My Time on Earth
by Nosedivefan01
Summary: The second installation to "The Girl from Anaheim". The ducks arrive on Earth. Canard is gone, and Anna is heartbroken. This story is pretty much the series, except now Anna is with the ducks. How will she affect the outcome of each episode? Also, not sure if I'll do every episode, but I'll definitely try! I'm also open to suggestions! Rated M cause I know I'll get carried away...
1. landing on Earth

_Okay, so... this is the second story of "The Girl from Anaheim" (yay!) so if you haven't read that... I guess you could try to muddle your way through this one, but it might be just slightly easier on you as the reader if you go read the first one to know what's happening..._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks... if I did, you can guarantee they would still be on the air and new episodes would be made. The only thing I own are... well, my OC's. There are many, but I think the ones that pop up in this story are going to be Anna (she's my main character, so obviously she'll be there), Jess, Jake and Jason (wow, that's a lot of J's. I didn't notice that before... O.o)_

 _Anywho, I hope you enjoy and... have a beautiful day! :D_

* * *

The aerowing came to a stop in a grassy clearing. Wildwing glanced back at Duke and Anna. Duke was still holding the girl as she silently sobbed in his chest. She seemed to be calming down now. Wildwing could hardly stand to look at her. Blood coated the left side of her face where Dragaunus had apparently cut her somewhere. It looked like a black eye was forming. Blood stained her clothes so much, you could hardly tell what color they were supposed to be. She appeared to have a huge gash in her right leg. No wonder she wasn't able to walk before. He sighed, looking down. The biggest reason he was unable to meet her gaze right now is because he had let her brother go. How could he face her after that?

"Let's check this place out." Wildwing ordered to the rest of the team. Anna didn't move. Duke looked down at her.

"Come on sweetheart, we'll get you a change of clothes." he promised, knowing how uncomfortable she must be. She still most definitely needed to be looked at, but Canard had stitched up the three most major gashes before his untimely departure.

Duke was finally able to help Anna stand up. He let go of her hands and she nearly fell backwards. He grabbed her just in time, though, and steadied her. He put a hand on her cheek, guiding her to look at him.

"Anna?" he asked, seeing her eyes weren't quite locking onto his. "sweetheart?" he tried.

"Duke?" she was barely able to breathe the question before her legs buckled beneath her. He caught her and realized she had lost consciousness.

"What... happened?" Duke asked, glancing over at Tanya.

"Here, bring her here..." Tanya rushed, going back over to the gurney. Duke did as he was told, picking Anna up bridal style and laying her down on the gurney. He didn't like how limp she felt in his arms.

Tanya quickly grabbed Anna's wrist, glancing at her watch. Everyone held their breath as Tanya sat silently. She got a worried look on her face, but quickly erased it as she pulled out a blood pressure cuff. Once again, silence engulfed the ducks that surrounded the gurney.

She sighed out, undoing the cuff. She glanced back at Wildwing.

"Wildwing, I think she might need a blood transfusion." she muttered.

"Are you sure? I mean, she was doing just fine a second ago." he tried.

"Wildwing, that could have easily been adrenaline... I mean, I've heard of people walking around on a broken leg just because their adrenaline was up and they didn't realize it was broken." Tanya explained. "I mean, wouldn't your adrenaline be high too after... you know, everything that just happened?" Tanya tried to avoid bringing Canard up. Wildwing sighed out, glancing to his left before back at her.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? Can you do it?" he asked.

"Well, maybe. Henry showed me the spots once when he learned about it back in med school, but even if I could remember the exact places to stick the needle, I don't know her blood type... unless you do?" she glanced at him.

"Er... No. But Canard would." Wildwing looked down, obviously wishing Canard was still with them.

"Hey, it's alright Wing. We'll figure this out. Maybe this place has a hospital or something around here." Duke tried, placing a hand on Wildwing's shoulder. Wildwing glanced back at Duke.

"Good thinking, Duke. Grin, can you carry Anna?" he asked, turning to the bigger duck. He nodded. "Of course I will carry Anna. It would be a privilege to help out a fellow duck." he said, walking towards the gurney. Wildwing nodded.

"Good." he glanced at the rest of the team, "Let's move. Anna doesn't have much time." he warned as he exited the Aerowing.

* * *

"Welcome to... Ana-heem... home of the Mighty Frogs?" Duke read the sign that they had now come across and he raised his eyebrows at the weird place's name.

"Kind of looks like... Puckworld." Wildwing commented.

"Yeah, but with better weather." Mallory chimed in.

"Impossible, I mean we're not even in our own universe anymore." Tanya murmured from her spot. "For all we know, this planet could be inhabited by giant slugs with hundreds of eyes or primitive barbarians." she added as Nosedive stuck his head through the bushes.

"Yeah, sure... primitive. I think we're talking serious civilization here, kiddies." he said as he peered at a mall through the bushes. The ducks noticed what Nosedive was looking at and turned their direction to follow him.

The ducks came up to the Mall entrance and saw strange creatures walking around... creatures who didn't have feathers or beaks.

"Look, we have no idea where we are, but maybe if this race is advanced enough to build a mall, they might have a hospital around here." Wildwing announced from his spot, glancing back at Grin, who held the injured member of the team.

"Guys..." Nosedive trailed off, pointing to a sign. It was blue, read "hospital" and had an arrow pointing up toward the sky, signaling that the hospital was just ahead.

"Well that's handy." Duke muttered from his spot, beckoning Grin and the rest to follow him in the direction the sign said to go.

"Wait, that sign actually read hospital." Tanya looked to be deep in thought.

"Maybe they speak our language." Wildwing understood what she was getting to as they came up to the ER.

The doors slid open and they rushed into a world of nurses, CNA's, and doctors scurrying this way and that. Almost immediately, the hustle and bustle of the ER stopped as the medical staff all seemed to stop what they were doing at once to turn and look at the strange new comers. One nurse finally seemed to come to her senses, seeing the injured duck in Grin's arms.

"Here." she instantly grabbed the nearest gurney and pushed it towards the giant duck. Well, the more giant duck...

Grin laid Anna gently down onto the gurney.

"What happened?" the nurse asked, making eye contact with Wildwing and he joined her in pushing the gurney down the hall. She could ask the obvious questions later. Right now, she could sense she had a life to save.

The other ducks followed after the gurney and the nurse, Maria, felt an uneasiness settle over her. She focused her attention on the white duck that had joined her. He seemed to be the one who was either related or just knew her the best.

"She was beaten pretty badly. One of my friends back there," he motioned towards Tanya, "her brother was a medic. She thinks that Anna might have lost a lot of blood. She might need a blood transfusion." Wildwing explained. The nurse stared at him for a moment, before moving her hands down to brush the feathers on the duck's arm. _How in the hell was she supposed to find a vein beneath those feathers?_

"Um, okay?" she was uneasy for a couple of reasons. The feathers, for one thing. And for the other...

"I know what you're thinking, and don't worry. Everyone on my team back there is willing to give blood for her if we match." he promised.

"You mean you don't know her blood type?" the nurse asked.

"Er... no. We were hoping maybe you'd be able to figure out. I mean, I'm YZ positive-"

"Hold on, there's no such blood type..." she trailed off, slightly cutting herself off, "I mean here there's not." She said, explaining it the best she could while trying not to offend the newcomers.

"But I'll tell you what... if we can somehow find her vein beneath all the feathers, we'll test her blood type with others on our planet. Who knows, maybe from where you're from, YZ positive is the same as O positive." she muttered.

"O positive?" Wildwing asked. She nodded, seeing she had confused him.

"I'm sorry, I'll explain later. Right now, I'm taking her to X-ray." she turned back, locking eyes with the blond female.

"You... I'm sorry, what's your name?" Maria remembered her manners, knowing she couldn't exactly just point around at people, saying "you".

"Uh, Tanya." Tanya said simply.

"Would you mind coming in with me. I could really use your help, especially if anatomy problems come up. And meanwhile, maybe you could explain exactly... well, what you guys are and how you got here." Maria tried.

"course, I'd be happy to help." Tanya said, stepping forward. Maria nodded, turning back to the rest of the ducks.

"The rest of you... uh, could you just wait in the waiting room. It's down the hall and to the left." she said, pointing. Wildwing nodded.

"Of course. Tanya," he looked at the blond, "can you alert us if anything changes with Anna?"

She nodded before rushing off into the room with Maria. Wildwing sighed out before turning back.

"Come on, there's nothing we can do now." he muttered, turning down the hall Maria had pointed at. The ducks followed him, an almost somber silence falling over them.


	2. Anna's recovery

Anna stirred in the bed. She was awake, but she kept her eyes closed for the moment. She felt sheets over here, and knew she was in a bed. She felt as if she'd been hit by a bus. The skin around her stomach felt tight and sore, and as she moved her right arm slightly, she felt something pulling against it. She risked opening her eyes, almost regretting it. She squinted against the lights that shone down on her and it took a moment for her vision to clear up. She was definitely in a hospital bed, though she didn't know where or how she had gotten there. She examined herself, seeing exactly what had been pulling against her arm was an IV. She groaned, rubbing the left side of her head and felt a knot right above her left eye.

"Anna?" she whipped her head around seeing Wildwing was sitting there. She sat up a little better and gasped in pain as her arms encircled around her ribs. At the same time, a pain had shot up her right leg. She was a mess.

Wildwing stood up from his chair, scooting it closer to her.

"Wildwing? What happened? Where are we? Did we get Dragaunus?" she had so many questions.

"Slow down, Anna. Let me explain." he said, sitting back down. She contained herself, motioning for him to explain.

"You've been out for a few days," he started, "we were all pretty worried. Tanya was working with the doctors for days to bring you back and keep you stable."

"Bring me back?" she asked.

"We almost didn't get to the hospital in time. You lost a lot of blood. They didn't know your blood type, or even if they'd find a blood type to match yours. They had to draw some blood to test it; to find a match to get you a transfusion. When they drew that little bit of blood, Tanya said you went into shock and they lost you for a minute."

"I died?" Anna said uncertainly. Wildwing nodded.

"Yeah, I- we thought we lost you too." his voice cracked and she absorbed what he was saying.

He wouldn't look at her, and she knew he felt guilty for letting her brother go. She was hurt, but not so much because Wildwing let go. She was more hurt that her brother had opted to leave her. She reached for her neck but didn't feel the dog tags that Canard had made her take. She frantically glanced around before Wildwing reached out, grabbing her hand.

"Don't worry, Anna. All of your stuff is safe." he could sense she was looking for something.

"Where are we, Wing?" she asked, knowing something wasn't right.

"They call it Earth. It's some planet in the dimension Dragaunus opened the portal in. The uh... the natives here look really weird so, you know, brace yourself if and when the doctor comes in to check on you." he warned.

"What of Dragaunus? Any sign of him?" she asked.

"Er, no. We lost him when we came through the gateway." he muttered, looking down. She reached forward, tilting his chin up to look at her.

"Hey, stop that. None of this is your fault." she tried, sensing the guilt rolling off of him, "my brother had no right to place any of this on your shoulders, but guess what? You're doing a pretty good job from where I'm sitting. I'm assuming the whole team made it..." she waited for his confirming nod, "and you got me to a hospital in time. Everyone is alive and well and we are in the same dimension as Dragaunus. We'll find him." she promised and he gave her a smile.

"Thanks Annie." he said. She returned his smile and he cleared his throat, holding up his comm.

"I better let the others know you're awake. They'll probably want to see you." he said.

"Hey Wing?" he stopped what he was doing, glancing at her.

"Did the doctor like, you know, tell you anything about... like what my injuries are or, you know, possibly anything else going on with my body?" she asked. She was trying to find out how the baby was, but didn't want to mention it if he didn't already know. He nodded slowly and she bit her lip.

"Could you maybe enlighten me? What you were told?" Once again, she was beating around the bush. Trying to find out what he knew before she told him anything.

"Well, uh, they said you lost a lot of blood. You had a pretty good sized gash in your right leg, so they stitched that up. They redid the stitches in your stomach, although I heard them mention that Canard basically saved your life by stitching up what he could. You have three broken ribs, so you're going to need to be careful. And you had a pretty good cut above your left eye that they stitched up. Other than that, some minor cuts and bruises. The doctor warned us that you'll probably be pretty sore for the next couple of days, but said that once you woke up you'd only need to stay over night one more time just so they could monitor you and make sure you were fit to leave the hospital." Wildwing explained. Anna frowned.

"Anything else?" she asked, probing. He gave her a weird look and she sighed.

"Well I guess you'll find out sooner or later." she muttered and he leaned closer, wondering what exactly she was getting at.

"Wildwing, back on Puckworld before I found out Trent was cheating, I-, well, I had some suspicions about... um..." she was stumbling, trying to find the best way to put it.

"Wildwing, at some point while Canard and I were out on patrol, before we found you and Dive, we came across a destroyed department store... while Canard wasn't looking, I- I grabbed a pregnancy test."

Wildwing's eyes went wide, but he stayed silent, allowing for her to continue, although he could tell what she was getting at.

"I took it back to base with us and, well, Wildwing, the test came back positive."

"You're-" he cut himself off, glancing down at her belly. She nodded, placing a hand gently over the three lines of stitches. He glanced away before looking back at her.

"With his..." he trailed off, anger showing through his eyes.

"Wildwing, it doesn't matter who the father is. Trent won't have anything to do with this baby. He didn't even know." she explained. He nodded, rubbing his chin.

"You want me to grab the doctor?" he asked.

"You can let the guys know. I really want to see them. But, after you contact the guys, if you could grab me a doctor, that'd be great." she said, giving him a smile. He returned her smile, leaning over and kissing her forehead.

"You won't be alone in this." he promised, hugging her gently. She hugged him back and knew he was already taking on the role of "big brother" that Canard had left behind.

* * *

Five ducks sat in the rec room, doing mundane things. It'd been a week, almost two, since the ducks had arrived on Earth. So far, they had met a man named Phil Palmfeather, who had now become their manager. They had also become the hockey team for the city, and in doing so they had already used their profits to start construction on an underground headquarters beneath "The pond". They had already set up their rooms, though, and Nosedive, Tanya and Mallory had even taken some time to start setting up Anna's room for her, anxious for when she'd be able to leave the hospital.

Duke sighed out loudly, standing up from his spot and beginning to pace.

"How long can it take someone to wake up?" he asked, not particularly directing the question at anyone.

"The doctors said they didn't know. So until then, we've gotta be patient. Wildwing said he'd alert us at the first sign of movement." Mallory tried.

"I know he did, I'm just worried." Duke admitted.

"We all are." Mallory tried.

"Mallory, you don't get it, she-" Duke cut himself off. He knew she hadn't told anyone besides him, but he was worried about not only Anna, but the baby as well.

"She what, Duke?" she looked him hard, knowing he knew something that she didn't. He sighed out, glancing away.

"She's pregnant." Tanya said from behind the group. Everyone turned to look at her with wide eyes while Duke just nodded from his spot.

"Wait, how'd you guys know?" Nosedive asked, feeling left out.

"Nosedive, I was in there with the doctors, remember?" Tanya tried. He nodded, a foolish look on his face. He then glanced at Duke suspiciously.

"And how'd you know?" he asked, pointing an accusing finger at the older drake. Duke opened his mouth, but nothing came out as Mallory's comm beeped. She answered it and the group gathered around her.

"Hey, Mal. Is the group in earshot?" came Wildwing's voice.

"We're all here, Wing. What's going on?" Duke said from his spot.

"Anna's awake. She'd really like to see you guys." came Wildwing's voice.

"And how's the baby?" Duke asked suddenly. Wildwing looked taken aback for a second, before answering.

"Uh, don't know how you know, but I'm gonna go grab a doctor here in a minute and we're gonna find out." Wildwing promised. Duke nodded from his spot, pleased with that answer.

"Alright, we'll see you soon Wing." Mallory finished off the conversation, shutting her comm. She looked at Duke, and for a moment it looked like she might interrogate him, but let it go. She ushered the team out the door and towards the hospital.

They had to walk, as the aerowing was just too big to haul just a couple of blocks. Tanya said she had been working on a vehicle. It was almost finished, but wasn't quite ready for a test drive. The group walked in silence for the most part, all just wanting to get to the hospital to see Anna.

* * *

 _author's note: I was so totally going to have this chapter follow Tanya while she helped Maria patch Anna up, but I didn't really like it. It didn't quite flow the way I wanted. Then I remembered it's my story, so then I decided I could start this chapter wherever I wanted, so I decided to start up right after Tanya and Maria got Anna patched up. Anyways, I hope you liked it and then next chapter will be up next Friday so definitely keep your eyes peeled and remember... R &R. _

_P.S. I'm thinking that if I don't get many reviews, I might start getting not so motivated, meaning some chapters could start not getting put up for weeks on end. Just, you know, food for thought. Anyways, have a good day and I'll see ya next week!_


	3. So much loss, so little time

Anna was laying in her bed, on her side, hugging her pillow tightly as her tears flowed freely. She placed a hand on her stomach and knew what the doctor had said was true. She no longer had life growing inside her. She stared out the window. The day was nice and sunny, and it mocked her. First her dad, then her mom. Now her brother and her baby. What more could be taken away from her?

Wildwing stood outside the hospital room. After the doctor had come and gone, Anna had wanted to be left alone, and he didn't blame her. He sighed, a tear threatening to fall. He didn't know how he felt about it. In a way, the duckling that had been lost would have been his niece or nephew. At the same time, he could care less about the father and found himself only slightly relieved. He didn't want Anna to have to face the pain of having a duckling that might end up looking like Trent. At the same time, he knew her sadness was real and that it wouldn't have mattered if the duckling had looked at Trent; she would have loved it with every ounce of her anyway. Not that that mattered anymore. The baby was gone now.

He heard voices down the hall and saw his team round the corner, all with smiles on their faces in anticipation of seeing Anna. He stepped forward, keeping them from going into Anna's room.

"Wildwing?" Mallory was the first to hone in on his somber aura. He didn't meet her gaze, just kept staring at the floor.

"What's going on, bro?" Nosedive asked as everyone else stared at him hard.

"Guys, she doesn't... doesn't really want to see anybody right now." he murmured, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

Duke stepped forward, putting a hand on Wing's shoulder.

"Wing, what's going on?" Duke asked.

"Anna's alright, she's fine. But the baby… the baby didn't make it." Wildwing forced and everyone seemed to gasp, sadness falling over them. Nosedive walked up, pulling his big brother in a hug, sensing he needed it. Both Tanya and Mallory gave each other a distraught look before hugging each other. Grin bowed his head, somberly. Duke glanced around at the team. This baby… this baby nobody had known about earlier that day had now somehow affected everyone's mood.

A nurse came shuffling by everyone and went into the room. Hardly even 2 minutes later, she stepped back out, her head hung. Wildwing looked at her for answers.

"She's asking for someone named Duke." The nurse said to the ducks. Duke looked surprised for a moment before nodding, moving towards the door. The rest of the ducks stayed outside, all mourning the loss of something that hadn't even happened.

* * *

Duke stepped inside carefully, closing the door behind him. He walked towards the bed and saw Anna just staring into open space. She wasn't crying, but there was a somber aura around her he could sense. She looked at him when he came into view and tears brimmed her eyes at the sight of him.

"How ya doing, sweetheart?" he asked, walking over and sitting in the chair beside her.

"I didn't do anything wrong, you know." Anna's voice sounded like it was coming from a stranger, and Duke's eyebrows creased with sadness as he ran a hand through her hair, brushing it out of her face.

"I know you didn't, sweetheart." He confirmed.

"The doctor…" a sob broke as tears began to fall from her eyes, "he said I didn't do anything wrong. He said…. That after the beating I'd gone through, he would have been shocked… if the baby had survived too." She started bawling and Duke moved from his chair, scooting her over and sitting down on the bed before pulling her into his arms. She fell into him, crying into his shirt. He rubbed her back gently, burying his beak into her mane.

The door cracked open and the rest of the team shuffled in. Somehow, the rest of the ducks had convinced Wildwing to let them in. Tanya was the first to move, going to the other side of the bed that Duke wasn't on and rubbing Anna's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Anna." Was all Tanya said.

"Why is this happening." Anna sobbed, and her words were barely audible. "I… I didn't do anything wrong. Why… why did my baby die? Why did my brother jump? I told him. I told him nothing was going to happen to him... I wasn't going to… to lose him too. And now…." She trailed off, leaning back into Duke's chest. He wrapped himself tighter around her, locking eyes with Tanya.

All seven ducks sat in silence, letting Anna cry. Letting themselves mourn the loss of not only their leader, but their friend. Letting themselves mourn the loss of a life that had not even began to live. Giving themselves time to mourn everything that happened since Dragaunus had taken over their planet.

Mallory wore a hard stare. She'd be damned if any of these ducks saw her cry, but she couldn't deny with everyone around her mourning the loss of somebody, she couldn't help but think of her father. She hugged her arms around herself, pleading with herself not to cry. Her father wouldn't want her to cry.

Time seemed to pass quickly and finally, the ducks decided it was time to head back to the pond. Anna apologized profusely for crying the whole time, but everyone silenced her, telling her it hadn't bothered them in the least.

Wildwing sat down in the make shift recliner and Anna realized he'd been staying the night for a while now. Possibly since she first ended up in the hospital. The team said their goodbyes and headed for the door. Duke lingered for a moment, locking eyes with Anna. She looked away and he sighed, turning and walking out of the door.

Wildwing got as comfortable as he could in the recliner before looking over at Anna and reaching out his hand. She took it, giving him the best smile she could muster. He returned it with a sympathetic smile and with that, the two ducks eventually fell asleep.

* * *

Duke fell into step with Tanya as they headed out of the hospital. The others were a few steps ahead of them.

"Poor Anna." Tanya murmured and Duke let out a sigh, showing her he felt the same way.

"Yeah, if only there was a way…" he cut himself off, seeing Tanya had stopped next to a window.

"Tanya?" he asked, stepping closer to her. She didn't even acknowledge he had said anything. She just stared through the glass at whatever was on the other side. He followed her gaze, seeing that she was staring at smaller versions of the humans. Almost instantly, he realized these must be the babies of this planet.

"Whoa, we better make sure we go out the other doors when we take Anna home." Duke muttered. His voice snapped Tanya out of her trance. She glanced back at him, a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong, Tanya?" he asked suddenly, arching his eyebrow at her. She looked back at the baby behind the glass before shaking her head.

"It's… it's nothing. I just… I could swear I've seen something like these before…" she trailed off, pointing at the babies.

"Where would you have seen one before?" Duke asked skeptically. Tanya shook her head.

"I, uh. I can't remember. It's going to bug me now." Tanya muttered, falling back into step with Duke as they walked to catch up with the others.

* * *

Anna was still being ordered to stay in bed by a doctor so her stitches and broken ribs could heal without being placed under too much pressure. Anna didn't argue, which the ducks found weird. In fact, she didn't really have anything to say at all. When they finally reached the pond, Nosedive took it upon himself to give Anna the grand tour.

"So, this is the rec room." Nosedive spread his arms wide as she limped after him. She took a second and sat on the couch. Nosedive smiled softly as he took a seat next to her.

"I'm sorry, Annie." He tried.

"Don't." she warned, and her tone was firm.

"Anna, I'm sorry I just… I don't know what to say." He finally said. She sighed out, looking away from him.

"Anna…" he trailed off and she glanced back at him. "Please talk to me." He finally said. She realized that ever since she'd been checked out of the hospital, he'd done nothing but try to get her to talk to him and she'd done nothing but shut him, along with everyone else, out.

"Okay, Divey. I'm sorry." She muttered. He smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him. When was the last time they were actually able to hang out like normal teenagers? It had been a long time. Quite possibly before the invasion. In fact, it definitely had been before the invasion.

"I picked up a comic from the comic store here. Thrash and Mookie said it was good." He tried, waving it in the air. She nodded. She didn't know who Thrash and Mookie were personally, but on the way back from the hospital, she recalled Nosedive trying to tell her about their first meeting with the weird teenagers.

She leaned into him as he started reading the comic out loud to her.

The two teenagers sat like that for a little while. Nosedive was well into the comic when he read a funny line. He laughed at it, expecting Anna to join him in the laugh. When she didn't he glanced down at her to see she had fallen asleep on his chest. Back on Puckworld, before the invasion, he would have given anything for this moment to happen. Now it was happening, and he couldn't help but smile, setting the comic book down on the coffee table. He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Annie." He murmured, settling himself into the throw pillow he was leaning against. Soon, sleep came to him as well.

* * *

Wildwing was walking into the rec room with the group of ducks behind him. Tanya had announced she had put the finishing touches on the new vehicle the previous night when she had been unable to sleep. So far, since their arrival on earth, they had managed to build an underground headquarters beneath the pond. Tanya had been busy, making weapons and building a new assault type vehicle for them so they didn't have to travel around in the aerowing everywhere they went.

"Tanya, I know you've done a lot thus far, but do you think you could build a super computer so we can track Dragaunus?" Wildwing asked.

"Well, I could whip one up but it could take a while…. I mean, with this planet's technology maybe a couple of years." She muttered.

"We're not waiting for her, we're going to style in our new ride." Wildwing announced as they walked pass the couch. He stopped in his tracks, seeing the two teenagers sleeping on the couch. He smiled before leaning down and tapping Dive on the shoulder. The teenager stirred before glancing up at his brother.

"What's up?" he asked, speaking quietly so as not to disturb Anna.

"We're heading out to search for Dragaunus." Wildwing announced. "you coming, bro?"

Nosedive nodded, moving carefully from beneath Anna and moving the throw pillow in the place he had been. Anna stirred a little bit, but hugged onto the pillow, settling back into sleep.

With the younger member of the team joining them, the ducks moved towards the hangar and their new vehicle: the migrator.

* * *

 _Author's note: I am so sorry if this made like absolutely no sense…. I was trying to capture the emotion of miscarrying while also realizing some of these ducks don't even know each other that well to be distraught about Anna's miscarriage. Anyways, I hope it made sense and if you shed a tear than I guess I did my job as a writer. If you didn't, I guess I suck and we'll just move on. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and the next chapter will be up next Friday!_


	4. New heroes in town

_Author's note: I know I missed a lot in the last couple of chapters about what the ducks were doing while Anna was in the hospital… like, while she was in the hospital they were getting a contract going with Phil. I didn't necessarily write that part because for 1) we already know this happens and 2) I'm mainly following Anna with this right now. Anyways, here's the next chapter… enjoy!_

Anna woke with a start. She glanced around the rec room, realizing she was alone. She sighed out, sitting up and heading towards the room Nosedive had said was hers. She sat down on the bed and reached up to her neck. She had gotten her brother's dog tags back from the hospital and gripped them tightly as she stared at nothing. Tears formed in her eyes and she just fell back onto the bed, grabbing onto the pillow and crying.

"I hate you, Canard. I hate you!" she sobbed, "why? Why did you do it?" she wondered out loud, her sobs getting louder. She stayed on the bed for what seemed like forever, and finally she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The migrator zoomed down the streets, Nosedive at the wheel.

"Anything on the sensors, Dive?" Wildwing asked after some silence had engulfed the ducks.

"A big zippidy doo dah, bro." Dive informed before looking back at the road.

As the migrator carried on down the streets, silence fell back over them. They passed an alleyway and almost instantly, Duke stood up.

"Man, those people are in trouble, we've gotta help 'em!" he insisted. He wasn't sure what he had seen, but he was sure he saw two people being circled around by a motorcycle gang, and they weren't enjoying themselves.

"No! Finding Dragaunus is our top priority!" Wildwing muttered, forcing his gaze forward so he didn't have to look at Duke.

"Yeah and besides, why should we get involved with the humans' problems?" Dive added, turning around in his seat for a moment to look at Duke.

"Hey, I've been on the wrong side of the law. And if we don't fight evil wherever we find it, we're no better than Dragaunus himself!"

Wildwing sighed out, glancing back at Duke. "he's right. Let's go." He ordered. With that, the migrator went squealing back around towards the alleyway.

The ducks entered the alleyway, hearing the main guy on the motorcycle saying something about his terf.

"Why don't you hog heads mess with us instead!" Wildwing said, stepping forward.

"Nice mask. Who the hell are you weirdos?" the guy asked, turning his full attention towards them as his gang followed suit.

"Hey, don't you guys ever watch hockey?" Mallory asked, crossing her arms. Sure, they hadn't been there that long, but long enough that everyone in town basically knew who they were.

"Nah, but we'll be happy to put you turkeys on ice!"

"Hey, that's ducks you cretins!" Duke defended, drawing his sword as both sides advanced towards each other.

The fight was won in under a minute as the ducks finished off the goons and tossed them into the garbage can.

"That's where trash like you belongs." Wildwing muttered, slamming the lid down on the trashcan.

A few hours later found the ducks back in the migrator, still endlessly searching for Dragaunus.

"There is not a sign of Dragaunus anywhere!" Wildwing said with frustration as they passed a bank. The windows shattered on the bank and blew outwards.

"I'd say someone just blew the vault in that bank." Duke said, pointing backwards. Wildwing swiveled around in his chair.

"And I supposed you want us to stop them." He said, pointing a finger at Duke. The migrator flipped around and Wildwing started pressing some buttons.

"We better put the migrator into battle mode." He said as the buttons he was pressing made the migrator transform around them.

They burst through the window, coming upon a couple of thieves and some sort of a laser. Nosedive popped up out of the top of the migrator, but ducked quickly as one of the thieves fired at him with the laser. Duke popped up next.

"I'll handle these rookies." He muttered, shooting his grappling hook up at some pipes. He swung down, drawing his blade and slicing the barrel off the laser, causing it to malfunction and blow up. The thief who had been running the laser was thrown to the ground. The rest of the ducks piled out of the migrator and Mallory stood over the thief on the ground. He looked up at her and stood up, preparing himself for a fight.

"No freak is gonna beat me!" he growled at her.

"Freak? Not exactly…" she muttered, kicking him back into a wall and successfully knocking him out. "I like to think of myself as daringly different." She said pridefully, walking away.

The bigger of the two thieves was backing up away from Grin. When he realized he was backed against a wall, he decided to try to fight the bigger duck. He laid a bunch right into the ducks chest which did nothing but hurt his own fist.

"You wouldn't want to disturb my inner tranquility, now, would you?" Grin asked, holding up his hand and flicking the thief in the head. The guy instantly fell back, hitting a plant so that it flew up in the air, and came smashing back down against his head, knocking him out cold.

"We'll just…. Deposit you creeps in here." Wildwing said as he and the ducks tossed the tied-up thieves into the bank vault.

"Listen up, bad boys! There's a new sheriff in town, and he's wearing feathers!" Nosedive announced before following the rest of the ducks back to the migrator.

* * *

Wildwing led the team back to the rec room. His head was hung. He should have been proud; his team had taken out two different groups of villains tonight, yet they still hadn't located Dragaunus.

"I gotta figure out a way to make this pay." They walked in on their new manager, Phil, pacing back and forth, "Oooh, I know! Official Mighty Ducks Secret Headquarters tour! Ten bucks a head!"

"You lead a very rich fantasy life, Phil." Duke said, placing a hand on the plump man's shoulder. Nosedive walked past them, seeing a huge monitor screen sitting in the middle of the rec room.

"Whoa, nice mainframe Tanya." He said walking up to her while the rest of the ducks circled around the computer.

"I found this chain of stores called 'lectric land. It's fabulous! They have everything!" Tana exclaimed. "I'm calling it Drake 1. We can use it to search for Dragaunus. Like, you know, now even." She said, turning to Wildwing.

"Oh yeah, well I wouldn't give a used puck bag for our chances of finding him." Wildwing muttered, looking away.

"Wildwing, it's time you put that mask on and started acting like a leader, alright?" Duke tried, glancing at his side bag.

"Just… keeping it 'til we find Canard." Wildwing tried, patting the bag.

"He gave you the mask for a reason, he wanted you to lead us!" Duke argued. Wildwing shook his head, walking away from Duke.

"Look, I'm not cut out to be a leader, ok? It's too much responsibility!"

A loud alarm suddenly sounded, keeping Duke from arguing even further.

Tanya ran up to the computer, pushing a couple of buttons.

"Drake 1 is picking up an unusual energy source outside the city. It's really… big. Wildwing, it could be the raptor's drive system." She said, turning to look at him.

"If you're right than we found Dragaunus." Wildwing glanced back at the couch, "where'd Anna go?" Everyone kind of shrugged except for Duke.

"I'll go see if she tried out her new room." He volunteered.

"Alright, you do that. See if you can convince her to come with us. She'll need to be there if we can overpower Dragaunus, use the dimensional gateway and go home." Wildwing informed. Duke nodded, understanding the situation and heading off down the hall while the others headed for the hangar.

"Boobies, come on!" Phil started while the ducks shoved past him, "there are more important things than fighting evil! Like personal appearances, promotional schemes, all kinds of…"

Wildwing turned around, cutting him off.

"Oh yeah, Phil… you don't think this is important?" he grabbed Phil's jacket, pulling him towards the elevator. "See for yourself." He said threateningly.

"It's okay, babes! I believe ya! Look I gotta sue somebody tomorrow morning! Come on!" he protested as the elevator door closed.

Duke knocked on the door to the room he knew had been reserved for Anna.

"Hey, sweetheart?" he asked. He knocked again and waited, "can I come in?" he asked. There was no answer, but the door slid open revealing Anna standing there. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were red and puffy, and she just stared at him for a moment before limping back over to her bed and sitting down.

"Can I join you?" he asked her. She shrugged, looking away. He sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I know what you're going through." He tried. She ripped her hand away from him, glaring.

"You have no idea what I'm going through! Your brother didn't jump through a vortex and your baby didn't die before it was born!" she sneered hostily at him. He sighed out, looking taken aback.

"No, my brother was only murdered by Falcone!" he growled back at her and she looked away from him.

"I'm sorry, Duke. I shouldn't have jumped down your throat like that. It's just…" she trailed off, sighing out before looking at him, tears brimming her eyes.

"Does it ever go away? The pain?" she asked him. He looked away from her for a moment.

"It gets easier to hide it." He muttered. A look of thought crossed his face. "Well, I guess it does sort of go away. The first year, you compare things all the time. "This is what Kale would do in this situation." Stuff like that. Soon, that first Christmas rolls around and it hits you that they're just not there anymore… and you put on a happy face because it's supposed to be a happy time of the year and eventually, the next Christmas isn't so hard since you already went through one without him. It lingers in the back of your mind that they aren't there anymore, but it gets easier to ignore the fact that they're gone." He stared at the floor the whole time he said this and she reached over, grabbing his hand.

He turned back, looking at her before she leaned into him. He pulled her into a hug, placing his chin on the top of her head. They sat like that for what seemed like forever before Duke cleared his throat.

"Anyways, sweetheart, the reason I came looking for ya…" he trailed off until she looked up to him.

"Tanya built a super computer…. She thinks it might have found Dragaunus…" he trailed off, waiting for her reaction. She only nodded before standing.

"Let's go." She said suddenly and he looked taken aback. He thought it was going to be a hell of a lot harder to get her to agree to go with them.

"Well, alright then." He muttered from his spot before standing up and letting her lean on him while they walked towards the hangar.

All the ducks looked vaguely surprised to see her but they let it go as she took her seat next to Duke.

"Alright, let's go catch ourselves a lizard." Wildwing announced as the launched into the sky.

* * *

 _author's note: Hi! Me again! sorry, just gotta comment... it's weird to be caught up as far ahead as I am, and this next week is spring break so I may be definitely getting myself super far ahead just this week which will be super nice. It's just weird to still be on the first episode, but be working on Zap Attack (maybe, we'll see...). My process for writing episodes is to watch the episode through once without making notes and just imagining where Anna might be and then I'll go ahead and write up an outline of where she's going to be, what I might add, etc. etc. And then, of course, I watch the episode like ten more times... Seriously... Pretty sure I've got the dialogue from "A traitor Among us" memorized._

 _Anyways, I'm probably going to give you guys this warning a few more times until we get to the point, but there will be some suggestions of Depression and Suicide to come. Just emotionally prepare yourselves, or skip over it... and I'll let you guys know the chapter before it happens if you do so choose to skip over. Anyways, I think that's it for this week! Hope you enjoyed it and have a good week! I'll see ya next Friday!_


	5. Becoming a leader

_Author's note: **Okay, I'm so sorry guys! Please don't kill me! I had a bit of a family crisis, so I'm super sorry for the day late update.** Anyways, as always read and review and once again…. I'm following Anna and because Anna's here, things might not play out exactly as they do in the episode. Anyways, I will address any confusion in any reviews and…. As always, enjoy! _

_P.S. thank you so much for the reviews…._

 _To xxWolfLord95xx, who reviewed on Chapter 3 (which was actually chapter 2), thanks for always being with me through this story and the rewrite._

 _To ForeverReader, who reviewed chapter 5 (really chapter 4), I definitely noticed this… a few years back I was really into music videos and I did one with Mallory and Wildwing, and I definitely used some of these parts… in fact, there was a lyric that said, "when you're on your knees, begging please, give me one last kiss!" and, even though the two never kiss, there's a scene in the series where Wildwing is looking at her and turns around to leave… and if you stop it at the right moment, it looks like he's leaning into kiss her which is great. Lol. I definitely love picking out the little moments where they share a nonchalant touch or something like that._

 _Anyways, I think I've rambled on long enough._

 _Hope you enjoy this next chapter and sorry for that long author's note!_

 _Also…_ _ **Important…**_ _There is suggestions of self-harm at the end of this chapter. Please be aware and don't read the last section if it might bother you._

* * *

The aerowing landed in a clearing near the woods with a mountain standing tall to their right. They exited the aerowing, their eyes trailing over the scenery. Anna sat at the controls in the aerowing, considering her stitches made it hard for her to jump into action.

"I don't understand, this IS the source of the energy readings!" Tanya exclaimed, staring at her omnitool with confusion.

"Yeah, right. This place is just crawling with evil." Phil muttered.

"This is hopeless," Wildwing muttered, hanging his head, "we don't even know if Dragaunus is on this planet! We're never going to find him…." He trailed off, hanging his head.

Duke went to move forward before, suddenly, the ground shook beneath their feet and the top of the mountain suddenly glowed green, revealing the raptor's hiding place.

"Oh yeah, looks like he just found us!" Mallory exclaimed as the ducks took off running back for the aerowing.

Anna saw the raptor fast approaching and started flipping switches, turning the aerowing on and silently thanking her brother for forcing her to learn how to fly an aerowing. The ducks loaded up and Anna instantly took off.

Phil started banging on the back door. "open the door, I wanna go home!" he screamed. He ran up, grabbing Duke from behind.

"We're gonna go get a bigger ship now, right!?" he tried. Duke just jerked away out of Phil's grasp.

"We've gotta get control of that ship!" Wildwing said, looking over at Anna. Nosedive stood right behind her.

"Are you whack man!" Dive tried.

"I hate to say it, but he's got a point." Anna tried, "I mean, Dragaunus is packing enough heat to charbroil the planet."

"Yeah, and his gateway generator's our only ticket home." Wildwing drew his point across.

The raptor was close incoming, and Anna could see it would be only a matter of time before he fired at them.

"Nosedive, strap in!" she ordered.

"Wha-"

"Now!" she growled.

Anna pulled back on the controls just as Nosedive sat down and he barely had time to get his seatbelt done up. She landed the aerowing on top of the raptor via the "duck-feet" and turned on the bottom lasers to cut a perfect hole in the top of Dragaunus' ship. Instantly, the ducks stood up and dropped ropes down into Dragaunus' ship.

"Phil, wait here!" Wildwing ordered. Anna stood from the pilot's chair.

"No problem, I'll lock up." Phil said from his hiding place behind one of the chairs.

"Anna, you too." Wildwing ordered.

"But-"

"I won't be responsible for losing another Thunderbeak." His word was final as he jumped down the rope. Anna glared at nothing, crossed her arms, and sat back down in the chair.

"Great, he's got me babysitting humans now." She muttered, glancing back at Phil. Phil just sheepishly smiled at her as she rolled her eyes at him.

* * *

Wildwing got down the rope and started barking orders.

"Tanya, get control of the main engines! Grin, keep her covered!"

The two ducks ran off down the hall, following Wildwing's instruction.

He turned to the rest of the ducks. "we'll have to get to the cockpit."

"That'll mean engaging Dragaunus and his goons!" Mallory said, a hint of excitement to her voice. As if on cue, three glowing shapes appeared in the room before they were revealed to be wraith, chameleon, and siege.

"Mmm, am I psychic or what?" she asked, crossing her arms sassily.

"So you want a rematch, ay?" came the snide comment from Siege.

"This time, there won't be enough left of you to stuff a pillow." Came Wraith's threat as he threw a fireball in their direction. Duke drew his sabre, catching the fireball on his blade, and shooting it off towards Chameleon. Chameleon let out a yelp as he ducked, causing the fireball to hit a pile of crates.

Siege ran at Wildwing and Wildwing fell back, using his feet to kick Siege off of him. Duke engaged Wraith.

"That does it! These creeps are off our Christmas card list!" Dive yelled, firing a puck at the ceiling above Siege. Debris fell from the ceiling, covering Siege.

Chameleon transformed himself into a lizard the size of Siege and approached Mallory, but she flipped him over her body easily, sending him barreling into Wraith. Both lizards hit the ground, and Chameleon changed back, rubbing his head.

Siege, in the meantime, moved under the debris and finally burst out of it, growling. All the ducks readied themselves for his attack.

"Enough!" Everyone turned towards where the voice had come from. Crates went flying as if someone had kicked them before in a matter of a second, Dragaunus appeared in front of them.

"You three take the controls! When we're over the city, blast it into rubble." He ordered, stepping forward. His stooges dispersed and his glare fell on the ducks.

"I'll handle these pests!"

"Not without a fight, Dragaunus!" Duke growled, stepping forward.

"Don't be so sure about that…." Dragaunus trailed off, pointing his laser at the ground at their feet. The blast sent the ducks flying… Wildwing flew to the right while the rest of them flew to the left by some barrels. Dragaunus fired at the barrels, sending them tumbling on top of the ducks.

He turned his attention towards Wildwing.

"And now for you." He muttered, hitting a button on a remote. "You won't even know what hit you." He said. Wildwing tried to jump at him, but Dragaunus turned invisible and Wildwing hit air and landed on his side.

Dragaunus began to laugh and one of the barrels broke open under the pressure of Dragaunus' invisible foot, sending green liquid spewing all over the floor. Before Wildwing could prep himself for the attack, he was grabbed from behind and thrown onto the floor. Dragaunus let out a deep chuckle as he moved towards Wildwing.

* * *

Anna sat at the controls, leaned back with her good leg propped up against the dash board. She tapped her foot impatiently.

"Something's not right, too much time has gone by." She muttered, glancing back at Phil. She wasn't sure, but from somewhere the plump man had gotten a rubik's cube and was currently attempting to solve it.

"Calm down, boobie. I'm sure they'll be along." Phil tried, not looking at her. She sighed out.

"No way, I'm going to see what's up." She said.

"Wait, hold on! Didn't you hear Wildwing?" Phil asked, dropping the rubik's cube and trying to stop her.

"Yeah, he said he wasn't going to lose another Thunderbeak. And he won't." she promised, moving towards the rope.

* * *

Tanya and Grin stepped into the main engine's room. Orange/yellow crystals sat in the center of room.

"Not meditation crystals I assume?" Grin wondered, glancing at Tanya.

"No, beryllium power crystals; very rare." She said, moving to the computer. "This accounts for the ship's unorthodox propulsion system." She added, starting to mess with the computer using her omnitool.

"Right." Grin muttered, not exactly understanding what she had just said.

* * *

"You can't hide Dragaunus, you're going to lose!" Wildwing shouted as he swung his fists around. He got hit from behind and fell to the ground.

"How? Your leader has gone! And you're a poor substitute." Came Dragaunus' mocking voice.

Anna trailed down the rope, hearing what Dragaunus had said. She landed, almost lost her footing, but caught herself, gritting her teeth against the pain that shot up her bad leg.

She looked out, seeing Wildwing trying to pick himself up. She glanced around, seeing the others were gaining consciousness, pushing a bunch of barrels off of themselves. She rushed over to help them, going to the first duck she happened upon, which was Duke.

"I'll find Canard! Whatever it takes!" Wildwing growled.

"You pathetic fool…" came Dragaunus' voice as Wildwing was knocked to the ground again. "you'll never see your friend again!"

"No… no I don't believe you!" came Wildwing's hoarse growl.

"Deal with it duck boy!" came Dragaunus' sneer. "Canard is trapped for all eternity in dimensional limbo. Along with the mask."

Wildwing got a determined look on his face, reaching into his side pocket. He pulled out the mask of drake ducaine, putting it on.

"Wrong, dino-breath." His voice seemed to change as he suddenly started fighting with the invisible lizard.

Wildwing grabbed the remote from Dragaunus and crushed it, causing Dragaunus to come back into view. Anna glared at the lizard and Duke saw the look in her eyes.

"Anna?" he asked, looking carefully at her. She didn't acknowledge he had even said anything. As soon as Dragaunus appeared, she rushed forward, grabbing him low and slamming him into the ground.

"Anna!" Wildwing was shocked by her presence and helped pull her up. She tried to pull away from him, grabbing towards Dragaunus. Dragaunus had a look of shock written across his face as he stood.

She ripped out of Wildwing's arms and went for Dragaunus again. Wildwing looked down at his gloved hand and saw traces of blood. He realized her stitches must have gotten pulled out. He looked back up to her.

"Anna!"

Anna was moving quickly at Dragaunus but this time he was expecting it, and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up.

"I was sure I killed you back on puckworld…" he muttered, glaring at her as she struggled in his grasp. "I won't be making that same mistake again."

Before Dragaunus could do anything, Wildwing barreled into his side with his shield. Dragaunus dropped Anna and she went flying, landing near the barrels the others had been buried by before.

"Oh shit." Duke muttered, running over. He rolled Anna over to look at him and was surprised to feel warm liquid on his hands. He looked back to see she was bleeding through her spandex around her stomach.

"Oh sweetheart." He muttered, shaking his head. She caught her breath and sat up, grabbing at her side.

"Don't move, Anna!" he ordered. She pulled her hands away from her stomach and saw the blood staining her feathers.

"Duke?" she asked, looking back up at him.

Wildwing landed on top of Dragaunus, pulling a fist back to punch him. A beeping was heard from a comm on the wall.

"The city is in range, my lord." It was Siege over the speaker, "we're ready to commence bombardment."

* * *

The speaker was also hooked up in the main engines room, and Tanya looked back at the computer.

"We gotta shut down the engines now!" she said, trying to hurry her work. Grin walked away from her towards the group of beryllium crystals.

"The smallest pebble may divert the mightiest river." He said, pulling his fist back.

"Grin, no!"

* * *

Duke helped Anna to her feet. She was trying to hold her side, but the blood was seeping out of the torn stitches and didn't seem to want to stop. Duke unbuttoned the top of his jumpsuit, tearing the material around his waist. He placed his saber on a loop on his belt, and wrapped his now torn shirt around her waist, tying it tight. She protested against his pull, but he shushed her.

"Don't you dare shush me, it fucking hurts!" she hissed at him.

"Well then maybe next time you'll listen to Wildwing and stay in the damn ship!" he shot back at her. She looked like she might retort but stopped short.

Just at that moment, an explosion was heard as the ship rocked sideways.

Dragaunus shoved Wildwing down and used the explosion to make his escape down the hallway. In that same moment, Grin and Tanya came running up, covered in dust.

"Um, guys, we've got a problem." Tanya announced.

"Oh, now what?" Mallory muttered.

"well it looks like we're sort of maybe going to crash."

"What?!" Wildwing exclaimed, glancing back at her.

"Well we sort of, you know, destroyed the main engines…" Tanya explained, rubbing the back of her neck, "There was a little, you know, miscalculation."

Everyone sensed the danger and took off for the ropes still hanging down from the aerowing.

"Awe man, someone give me a doughnut, does she always have to blow something up?" Nosedive muttered as they all went to climb up the ropes.

"Hop on." Duke muttered, seeing Anna couldn't climb.

"yeah. Right. How are you going to pull **both** of us up?" she challenged. He shook his head at her, grabbed her arm and threw her around him so she was holding onto him piggy back style. She felt herself blush as she leaned against his bare back, and the blush only got hotter as she felt his muscles flex as he climbed up the rope.

 _Okay, so maybe he_ _ **can**_ _carry both of us up the rope._

They reached the top of the rope and Duke forced her onto the med table in the back.

"Duke, knock it off!" she growled at him as he lifted the sticky spandex from her stomach carefully so he could examine what exactly had happened. He knew they were pressed for time and for right now, he just wanted to stop the bleeding. He reached into a drawer, pulling out a square bandage.

"Duke, don't you dare! Don't you dare touch me!" she hissed. He shook his head, rolled his eyes, slapped her hands away from her stomach and slapped the bandage into place.

"Owe!" she protested as he walked away towards the front of the ship. He looked out to see what the others were seeing.

"It's headed straight for the city!" Duke exclaimed, his eyes going wide as he saw the raptor gradually falling towards Anaheim.. Anna walked over, putting her hands on his still bare shoulders, looking over his head to see what was going on. Her eyes went wide as well, not fully sure what they should do to keep the ship from hitting the city.

They all prepped themselves for the explosion that was sure to follow the crash of the raptor hitting the city; but it never came.

"What happened?" Mallory asked.

"They must have switched to auxiliary power." Tanya muttered from her spot.

"Then we've gotta search for them!" Wildwing growled, pointing out the window.

"Sorry, Wildwing. We don't have much fuel. You know, like none."

Wildwing hung his head.

"We'll find 'em again." Duke tried, putting his hand on Wildwing's shoulder, "Cause now we have a leader."

"And a real team captain." Mallory added in, which sparked everyone having an input.

"That's my bro!" came the praise from Nosedive.

"You can do it." Grin added.

"Absolutely." Came Tanya's input.

Finally, everyone had said something except for Anna. She was looking at the floor and in the silence, she finally spoke.

"I'm glad my brother gave you the mask." Was all she said, and Wildwing could tell she meant it.

Sobbing was heard and they all turned around to look at their manager.

"What? It's so beautiful!" he sobbed, blowing his nose.

* * *

Anna was laying in her bed, reading a book. Her door opened and she looked up to see Wildwing walk in.

"How you doing, kiddo?" he asked, sitting down at the foot of her bed. Anna's words caught her throat for only a second. Wildwing didn't even notice.

Canard always called her kiddo and it dawned on her that what Duke had said was true. Little things **would** remind her of her brother for a while. She had thought about telling Wildwing not to call her that, but stopped short; she liked it. She liked the reminder.

"I'd be better if I could leave this room." She muttered.

"Aside from house arrest, how you doing?" he asked, smirking.

"Okay." She muttered, looking back at her book.

"Just okay?" he asked, prying. She kept her head in the book and he sighed.

"Anna, you've been through a lot. I'm just checking-"

"I said I'm okay!" she snapped suddenly, looking up from her book and obviously surprising him.

"Anna, I'm just saying if you need to talk-"

"Save it Wing. I know… I know you're here if I need to talk to anybody. It's the same shit Nosedive, **and** Tanya, **and** Duke threw at me."

"I just don't want to see you get depressed." He tried.

"Then let me go out. Let me go to the mall with Nosedive. Let me explore this foreign place! Let me practice with you guys on the ice!" she demanded, getting louder and louder.

"Anna, you know I can't. Doctor Jurgens already ripped me a new one for letting your stitches get torn before."

"I'll be careful!" she argued.

"I can't risk that! And neither should you." His word was final and he sighed out.

"Anything else?" she glared at him. He glared back at her.

"I don't think your brother would appreciate his little sister so ready to go out and get herself killed!" he snapped.

"Don't you dare, Wing! Don't you dare use my brother against me!" she growled as tears stung her eyes. Wildwing's eyes softened as he realized what he said.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I-"

"Get out, Wing." Her voice was quiet but dark. Wildwing sensed his presence was no longer welcome and stood up.

"I'm sorry, Anna. Just… just remember we're here for you." He tried as he walked out the door.

* * *

Wildwing walked into the rec room and heard Phil talking to the group. He walked in near the ending of his story where Phil was telling them about what he told Captain Klegghorn. Wildwing gave Phil a stern look.

"You told Klegghorn _**everything**_ , Phil?" Wildwing asked, crossing his arms.

"What was I supposed to do? The guy was giving me the third degree." Phil defended.

"Yeah, nice going, dipstick. You totally blew our secret identities!" Nosedive drew out.

"What secret identities? We're the only talking ducks on the planet!" Mallory shot back at him.

"And besides, it's better if the world knows you're superheroes." Phil added.

"It is?" Wildwing asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well sure! Think of the merchandising! Action figures, comics, and hey… even a cartoon show!"

"Bad karma." Grin muttered

"It'll never happen." Dive said and the rest of the team followed suit, throwing in their disbelief of ever becoming a cartoon show.

* * *

Anna stood up from her bed, walking over to the dresser sitting in the corner. Her eyes were red and puffy, and tears still stained her cheeks. She glanced down, seeing her pocket knife sitting on the corner of the dresser. She picked it up, opened it, faced her hand upward and pointed the end of the knife towards the inside of her elbow. Before she could do anything, she glanced up, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Tears started running down her face as she dropped the knife, letting it clatter to the floor. She herself collapsed onto the floor, scooting herself into the corner, her knees up to her chest.

"No, Anna. Don't do it." She whispered to herself. _Imagine if Canard had seen you just now_ a little voice said in the back of her head. She looked back down at her arm, seeing a tiny dot of blood where she had pressed the blade down hard.

 _No, Anna. You're going to hold on. You're going to fight this._ She told herself. She stood up, sighed out heavily, and caught her breath. She walked over, picked the knife up, closed it and placed it on top of the dresser. She looked up, staring at herself in the mirror. Her expression got very serious as she slightly glared at herself.

"You're not going to give in!" she said to her reflection, "you're going to fight this!"

 _You're going to fight this._

* * *

 _Author's note: so, that's the end of episode 1….. I'm so sorry if this is a little… graphic or tough to read and I just want to apologize if I stirred any bad memories for anybody here. I've dealt with self-harm and depression before and it's tough to deal with and tough for anybody to understand exactly why you do it…. I liked the idea of Wildwing trying to play big brother, especially since her and Nosedive are about the same age. Anyways, I feel like I'm beginning to ramble. I hope you like this chapter and read and review. Let me know how I did capturing Anna's depression here, and if you feel comfortable go ahead and comment on it._


	6. A traitor among us: pt 1

_Author's note: I'm so sorry guys. With everything going on, I totally thought today was Friday. I got my days all twisted around. anyways, I hope you enjoy. I had this written a while ago, so I'm super embarrassed I'm just now getting it up. Don't worry, I have the episodes all written out for at least another month I think, it's just me not being lazy or forgetting what the days are and actually getting them up, so I will definitely try to get the next one up on an actual Friday for once, so look forward to that and for now, enjoy this gem!_

Anna woke up with a start. Her stitches were completely healed, and Wildwing had declared she was off house arrest, but she didn't really care. She had gone out to the comic shop with Nosedive once, but hadn't bought anything.

She rolled over in bed, looking at her door. Should she get up and go see what was going on with the guys, or should she just lay here in bed all day again?

There was a knock on her door and she sighed out. It was probably Wildwing.

"Sweetheart? You awake?" came the voice through the speaker on the wall. She reached into the bedside drawer, pulling out a remote. She pointed it at the door and the door flew open. Duke walked in, meeting her gaze.

"Hey, sweetheart. How're you doing?" he asked, coming to sit on the end of the bed.

"Alright." She muttered.

"That's good."

She liked talking to Duke. He knew what she was going through so he knew better than to push for a "better" answer.

"Hey sweetheart, we're playing a game today. You haven't got much practice in, but, you know, we could use your support." He tried.

"Duke, I don't know if I want to just sit on the sidelines." She muttered

"Well, how about tomorrow we get you back on the ice and practicing with us." He tried.

She turned back to meet his gaze and he gave her a smile. She returned it.

"I'll think about it." She finally said, and it was enough for Duke.

"Ok, are you hungry?" he switched the subject.

"Not really." She muttered, but her stomach growled at that moment, making Duke think otherwise. He smiled and shook his head.

"I'll go get you a plate of breakfast." He offered, standing up. She smiled after him.

"Hey Duke?"

He stopped and turned back.

"Thanks." She muttered. He smiled at her before walking out the door. She settled back into her pillows.

It had probably been about a month since her last run in with Dragaunus, when her stitches had been torn open. Since that day, Wildwing had taken on the role of leader admirably and they had engaged Dragaunus once or twice in this past month. Anna wasn't entirely sure how many times, and didn't really care. Everyone was still alive and at the time, she had still been healing and Wildwing hadn't let her go anyways.

She got up, heading for the bathroom that thankfully was in her room. She sat on the side of the tub, turning the faucets on. Once the water was at her preferred temperature, she stripped down and stepped in, turning on the shower head. She welcomed the warm water that fell over her. She realized she hadn't showered in a couple of days, or at least she thought it'd been a couple of days. It was so hard to keep track of time anymore.

As the water ran over her feathers, she found herself replaying _that_ day in her head. If she hadn't have been injured, maybe she could have saved her brother. Maybe she could have got to the worm before it stole him from her. Tears brimmed her eyes again as she felt herself slide down the wall. She pulled her knees up to her chest and let herself cry as the water fell over her.

Duke walked into the room, having let himself in knowing Anna was expecting him. Her bed was empty and he almost let himself panic before he heard the shower going in the bathroom. He sighed out, setting the plate of food on the bedside table and taking a seat on the bed. At least she was getting up and doing something other than staying in bed.

The shower turned off and he turned his head to the bathroom door. A few minutes passed before the door opened and Anna walked out with a towel wrapped around her. She had a smaller towel and was drying her mane as she walked. She glanced up and saw Duke sitting there. Her eyes went wide and she squeaked.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I let myself in." he defended. She glanced over to the table and saw the plate of food sitting there.

"Thanks, Duke." She said, tossing the smaller towel into the hamper. She sat down on the bed next to Duke and took the plate. Biscuits and gravy. She took a bite and looked back at Duke, realizing he was staring at her.

"Sorry, I didn't intend on showering so long. I was planning on being dressed before you came back." She explained.

"It's fine." He said, and she gave him a sideways look. He cleared his throat.

"I mean, you know, um… how's breakfast?" he asked, feeling his cheeks get hot. She smiled, letting a laugh escape. It was the first time she'd laughed in a while, and it felt good.

"It's good, Duke. Thank you." She said, taking another bite. He smiled at her before clearing his throat again.

"Well, I should probably get out of your way so you can eat and get dressed." He said, standing up.

"Duke, you don't have to go running off you know." She said. He glanced back down at her and blushed again, seeing how little the towel covered.

"Anna, it's fine. I had some training I was going to do this morning anyways." He said, glad that he had a dark plumage so she couldn't see his blush.

"Oh, ok." She said, looking down. He bent down, tilting her chin to look at him.

"But, if you want to join me after breakfast, I think that would be fine." He said, smiling. She smiled back and nodded.

"Alright. I'll meet you in the training room. I am feeling pretty rusty." She said, taking another bite. He nodded, walking towards the door.

"I'll see ya soon." He said, walking out, the door closing behind him.

"See ya soon." She muttered in the now quiet room before taking another bite. She honestly hadn't realized how hungry she had been and finished her breakfast promptly.

Anna walked into the training room, ready for action. She had her puck launcher holstered on her side and her saber rested on her shoulder. She walked in expecting to hear noise from Duke's training, but it was quiet. Too quiet.

She heard a rush of air behind her and turned, drawing her saber just in time to clash with Duke's.

"Not bad, sweetheart." He praised, pulling his blade back. She pulled hers back too and both ducks rested the sabers at their sides, circling each other.

"Where'd you learn how to use a blade anyways?" he asked. She partly smiled, lifting her blade up and clashing with him. Through the crossed blades, she smirked at him.

"What, you don't think it was a natural talent?" she asked. He smirked back at her, throwing her back. She slid against the ground against his push and he jumped up, coming at her. She rolled to the side and Duke sliced through air. He came up to meet with her blade again.

"It could be natural talent… but a natural talent that you've perfected." He said, pulling back from her. She did the same.

"I know you didn't learn it from your brother, though, because he had no clue how to spar with me. That and I seem to recall him mentioning you took a class…" He trailed off, glancing sideways at her.

"You got me." She admitted, "I was eleven years old when I signed up for my first lesson." She explained.

"Eleven?" Duke asked as she rushed him again. He blocked the attack, throwing her back. "why so young?" he asked.

"I was eleven when my father was murdered. I found out the murder was done with a blade, and I decided I'd be prepared if ever the murderer made an appearance in my life again." She explained.

"Falcone." Duke said, knowingly. They both stood across from each other, blades pointed at the floor.

"Yes, Falcone. And what a coincidence, he did make another appearance in my life again." She drew out, glancing sideways at the scar on her shoulder. Duke sighed out, sheathing his blade and placing the handle back on his shoulder. He approached her and though she didn't know what he was doing, she followed suit, sheathing her own blade.

He reached up a hand, tracing his thumb across the scar. She reached up, putting her hand over his and he met her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Anna." He said, and she knew he still blamed himself for what happened.

"I'm sorry too." She said, reaching up and placing her hand against his temple so her thumb could rub the feathers next to his eye patch. He reached up now, grabbing her hand.

"Anna, don't. We both made mistakes that night." He tried, pulling her hand down and in the same motion pulling her into a hug. "We're both alive, and that's what counts." He said, resting his chin on her head. She nodded beneath him, but tears stung her eyes.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't." it was barely audible, but Duke pulled back to look at her. He brushed her hair out of her face and wiped the fresh tears away.

"How could you say that?" he asked. She looked away from him.

"You wouldn't understand." She trailed off.

"Anna, sweetheart, when Kale passed… there were times…" he trailed off and she gave him an interested look.

"Duke…" he looked back at her and she saw a tear brimming his eye. He looked away again, blinking and allowing the tear to run down his cheek. She reached up, wiping it away and he sighed having realized he had gotten caught crying.

"Look, sweetheart. It's in the past. I decided that my little brother and sister needed me around a bit longer, so I decided I wasn't giving in. At least not that easy." He explained. She nodded in understanding.

"Maybe you do understand." She finally muttered.

"Anna, please. Please promise me you won't do anything, you know, to hurt yourself." He tried, "I don't care if you wallow and grieve, you have a right to. You should. But please, don't take his loss out on yourself."

She met his gaze and fell back against his chest, hugging him.

"I promise." She finally muttered, and she felt him squeeze her tighter.

* * *

Anna sat in the box watching the game. She was holding a clipboard and a dry-erase marker. When she had decided to make the game, Wildwing had made her the unofficial coach for the night. She stood up, going over to the side, practically leaning over. Over the crowd, she could barely be heard, but she started screaming at Nosedive.

"Nosedive, back off!" she screamed as Duke fought to keep the puck from the other team **and** Nosedive. Tanya came up behind the two ducks, slapping the puck in for a goal.

Thanks to Tanya, the game was won, but Anna was not smiling in the least as she followed the team to the locker rooms.

"What the hell was that!" she spat at Nosedive as he pulled his skates off.

"I'd like to know the same thing." Duke said, standing up next to Anna, partly dressed.

"What, because I tried to save the game?" Nosedive muttered, pulling his jersey off.

"Because you have no idea how to work in a team!" Anna growled at him.

"You know, just because your brother's gone doesn't mean you need to stand there and act like him." Nosedive stood up, stepping closer to Anna so they were beak to beak. She glared at him, feeling tears form in her eyes. She wouldn't let him get to her.

"How fucking dare you, I-"

"You what, Anna? You think you can be like him? You think that just like him, you can go off on me for the stupidest shit?" Nosedive growled.

"Nosedive!" Wildwing scolded from his spot, setting his skates down next to him on the bench.

"What!?" he turned to his brother, frustrated.

"My brother is gone, possibly dead and you're gonna stand there and, what, make me feel bad for sounding like him? For sounding like my idol?"

"Ha, if you're going to idolize him, maybe you should have gone with him!"

"Nosedive Adavan Flashblade!" Wildwing was fuming as he stood up from the bench, glaring at his brother.

Nosedive turned back, returning the glare Wildwing was shooting his direction.

Anna's eyes filled with tears. She ran off and Nosedive turned back around, watching her leave.

His expression changed from anger to worry, almost as if he just realized what he had said. "Anna, wait." He said as he went to go after her.

"I think… you've caused enough damage for one day." Duke said, holding his arm out in front of Nosedive, stopping him from following her. Nosedive sighed out before turning back around and going back to changing out of his hockey gear.

Wildwing sighed out, pulling his own jersey off. "Where the hell did that come from?" he asked, glancing back at Nosedive.

"I'm sorry, Wildwing. I'm just getting tired of this. I'm tired of us acting like Anna's behavior is normal. I mean, how long is she going to grieve?" he asked, pointing back in the direction Anna had stalked off in.

"As long as she needs to, baby brother. Remember when Grandma Ruby died? Ma locked herself away for weeks."

"It's been a month, Wing." Nosedive tried.

"Yeah, and it'll be another six months if it has to be." Wildwing threatened, and with that the conversation was over.

Tanya stood after getting dressed and went to walk out the other door to leave the pond.

"Where are you heading off to?" Wildwing asked.

"Lectric Land. I wanna do some browsing." She explained, heading out.

The rest of the team headed off to the rec room.

"Hey, Grin. How about a round of chess." Mallory tried, glancing over at the bigger duck.

"Would be an honor to beat a fellow teammate." He said, sitting down across from her. She cocked an eyebrow.

"We'll see about that." She muttered, setting up the pieces. Wildwing was curling up with a book in the meantime.

Duke wasn't having it as he watched Nosedive head over to a video game.

 _How could he just sit there and play video games! How could he not get what he just did!_ Duke let out a growl, stomping over to Nosedive. He wasn't going to confront him about chewing Anna out, Wildwing had already done that. Instead, he decided he'd finish the battle Anna had already started.

"You don't steal the puck from a member of your own team, Nosedive! It's bad manners!" he growled.

"Yeah! Same to you, double!" Nosedive shot back.

"Hey, we all know you're the resident hot dog of this team!" Duke growled.

"Yeah, and you're the resident former jewel thief!" Dive retorted.

"Hey, if you don't know the difference between a diamond puck and a tiara, I'd be happy to show you!" Duke looked like he was getting ready to mess Nosedive up.

Suddenly, the alarm from Drake 1 went off, interrupting the two ducks. Wildwing ran over, pushing some buttons.

"We've got an intruder!" he announced.

"They're heading this way!" Mallory exclaimed.

"Hey, how could anybody access our secret elevator?" Duke wondered.

"I don't know." Wildwing said as his team surrounded the door, pointing their weapons at it, "but in about 3 seconds, they're going to come through that door."

The door opened to reveal a gorgeous, tan feathered duck with a long purple mane, who wore a pink jumpsuit.

"She's a… duck…" Nosedive trailed off, practically drooling.

"That remains to be seen." Wildwing said, never letting his guard down.

"Oh, Wildwing, is that any way to treat a lady?" Duke asked, lowering Wildwing's weapon.

"She could be a robot, or a chameleon in disguise." Mallory accused as the newcomer walked forward.

"The mask will tell us what she's really made of." Wildwing said, holding his hand to stop her. He scanned her with the mask, revealing the skeleton of a duck.

"I don't believe it, she's legit." Wildwing confirmed.

"and she's ravishing." Duke added from his place.

"and she's a blond babe to boot!" Dive put in.

"I'm sorry if I alarmed you, Tanya said it was ok for me to come up." The intruder said.

"Say, what happened to Tanya anyways?" Mallory eyed the newcomer suspiciously.

"Oh, well I think she said she was going to a place called 'Lectric Land?" The newcomer explained.

Mallory raised her eyebrow at this.

"This way sweetheart." Duke said, holding out his hand to her and guiding her over to one of the couches. "Just make yourself comfortable, huh?" he said, setting her down. He went to sit down next to her but was cut short.

"Hey Duke, why don't you fly south!" Nosedive said, running and jumping in between him and the gorgeous duck, forcing Duke to land on the floor. "Just max and relax with Nosedive, girly girl." He said, draping an arm behind her, "your main mallard o' love."

"I may throw up." Mallory muttered.

"I'm Vonda McDrake" the newcomer finally introduced herself, "and honestly I am not sure how I got here." She explained while Duke took a seat next to her.

Duke gave her a bump, causing her to bump into Nosedive, sending the younger drake to the ground. Vonda didn't seem phased by the bump and kept going.

"I was on Puckworld when suddenly this whirlwind picked me up and the next thing I knew, I was here." She finished explaining as the elevator opened behind them.

"You want them to pose for your candy ads in a vat of chocolate?" Phil came walking in, making some deal on the phone, "I'll talk to them, I'll take care of it, don't worry about it." He said, as he suddenly glanced over. He hung up on whoever he'd been talking to and walked over.

"To hell with your candy… I've got something bigger than Elvis here…" he trailed off, coming to stand in front of Vonda.

"Uh, Vonda, this is Phil Palmfeather, our manager, just ignore him." Duke introduced rudely.

"She's gorgeous…. And I'm not even a duck!" Phil exclaimed, "you know how much money I could make off of her!?"

"Always thinking of others first, huh Phil?" Grin asked from his place.

"I gotta write her up a contract!" Phil exclaimed, pulling out a piece of paper from his jacket, "the fast food tyrants alone would be worth a fortune!" he said, walking away to do his business. Wildwing stepped forward, knowing he needed to get back to business.

"That whirlwind, it sounds like one of Dragaunus' dimensional gateways!" Wildwing exclaimed.

"What!" Vonda looked genuinely surprised, "Dragaunus is here?" she asked.

"We have him under computer surveillance, but uh, he's disguising his ship." He was reluctant to reveal this, almost guilty that they hadn't been able to locate Dragaunus yet.

"Computers are my specialty. Maybe I can help." Vonda offered.

"Well, allow me angel." Duke said, standing up and holding out his hand. Nosedive shoved Duke and held out his hand, "Hi!" Nosedive offered. Before Vonda could take his hand, a growl was heard from Duke as he grabbed the younger Drake and threw him on the floor. The two drakes started rolling around, wrestling back and forth.

"You two are really making a spectacle of yourselves." Mallory muttered from behind them.

"Get used to it… we pretty much carry on like this till the end of the show." Nosedive explained as he wrestled with Duke.

In the meantime, Vonda had made her own way over to the computer, tapping away. A screen popped up, showing a location with red rings indicating what they were looking for.

"It's the energy patterns put off by Dragaunus' blasters!" Wildwing exclaimed.

"Hey, I got lucky on the first try!" Vonda said, beaming as she turned around.

"Well fancy that." Mallory muttered through gritted teeth.

"We better check this out." Wildwing said, pointing to the screen. "to the aerowing." He ordered.

The team moved towards the hangar. Wildwing turned back, looking at Vonda.

"I'm sorry, we can't leave you here." Wildwing said, turning back to her.

"That suits me just fine. I've got just as much of a score to settle with those fiends as you do." She partly growled, following him to the hangar.

Wildwing hesitated, considering sending Duke or someone to go get Anna. Then he thought better on it. Better to let her cool down then have her "accidentally" shoot at Dive instead of the saurians.

* * *

Anna was laying on her bed, staring at the wall.

"I don't know how Nora put up with it." She muttered to no one. She found herself thinking of Nosedive's mom. She had been like a second mom to her, and she wondered if Nora made it out of the invasion somehow, along with Torrent of course. It was crazy how much Nosedive looked like his mom while Wildwing had ended up growing into the spitting image of his dad.

She shook her head, still glaring. Why did she let Dive get to her? Why was he able to ruffle her feathers the wrong way?

She sat up in bed, rubbing her head. It never mattered what she thought about, her head always went back to what she might have been able to do differently to save her brother. It always went back to her brother. Sometimes, it even ventured to her unborn baby.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears.

"If it had been a girl, I would have named her Chloe…" she said, letting a tear run down her cheek. "And if it had been a boy, I would have named him Canard."

* * *

"Comfy sweetheart?" Duke asked as he and Nosedive sat facing Vonda in the back of the aerowing. Both ducks had their elbows on their knees, staring at the gorgeous duck.

"Yes, thank you. But I'm a little hungry," she suddenly said, rubbing her stomach, "I haven't eaten since puckworld."

"Well allow me." Duke said with a smile.

"No, no, moi." Nosedive said, pointing to himself.

Both him and Duke immediately unbuckled, running towards some shelving in the aerowing. They started pulling open drawers at the same time, bonking heads together on the third drawer. Both of them stopped, grabbing their heads.

"Whoa, whoa. Time out, time out." Nosedive said, making the "time-out" symbol with his hands. "can you believe we're actually doing this?" he asked.

"We're making fools of ourselves over a beautiful duck." Duke muttered.

"No doubt, it's cosmically corny man." Dive said.

"Completely undignified." Duke agreed.

"So… why we doing it?" Nosedive asked, shrugging. He and Duke looked back at Vonda again, who batted her eyelashes at them.

Suddenly, the two drakes were under her spell again, searching for something for the duck to eat as the aerowing landed.

The ducks exited the aerowing, walking over to a mountain in the desert.

"Okay, so where are they?" Mallory asked, shrugging.

"Right here, suckers!" They were all taken by surprise as Siege popped out of a sand pile with a blaster. He fired at them, causing them to take cover.

Nosedive looked back at Vonda, drawing his puckblaster.

"Watch me check these creeps into the boards. Ducks rock!" he shouted, aiming towards where Siege was standing. Before he could fire, he saw the Wraith throw a fireball at the mountain beside them. Nosedive saw rocks come loose.

"Ducks! Rocks!" his cheer suddenly turned into a warning for the other ducks as the rocks came crashing down towards them.

 _Author's note: Okay, I think I have a game plan. I wasn't going to do this, I was actually going to write it out in my own way, but I think for the most part, I'm going to try to make chapters from episodes about as long as they are between commercial breaks. Like right here it's going into a commercial break… so, there's usually two commercials between episodes, I think, so I guess you guys can look forward to the episodes being broken up into three parts. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me if you've stuck this far and I'll catch ya on the flip side!_


	7. A traitor among us: pt 2

**_Author's note: so I gotta put a big ol'_ _warning_** _ **on this chapter…. There's going to be some intense depression and suicidal themes in this chapter… you have been warned!** _

The ducks crowded together as the rocks crumbled into a pile on top of them.

"You're between a rock and a hard place now, ducks!" Siege celebrated.

"I just hope they aren't too _crushed_ by this." Wraith added with a chuckle.

Suddenly, the rocks moved and it was revealed that Wildwing had opened his shield just in time to protect all the ducks from the rockslide. Grin walked forward, picking up a giant rock and chucking it at the lizards. The lizards jumped to avoid getting hit.

Duke drew his saber, standing protectively in front of Vonda.

"Stand back sweetheart! I'll disarm that repulsive reptile!" he said heroically.

Nosedive stepped forward at that moment, firing a puck towards Wraith.

"Just leave the hero stuff to us hip, young, happening ducks, okay?" Dive started.

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm in my prime!" Duke defended, stepping forward.

"Oh yeah," Dive inched closer, so the two were beak to beak, "well my demographics skew a lot better than yours, brother!"

The two were so busy arguing, they didn't see Siege running towards them. They looked up just in time to see Vonda fly into a kick, knocking Siege to the ground.

"Uh… don't look now, but… we've just been aced." Dive muttered, looking back at Duke.

In the meantime, Wildwing was fighting with the Wraith. He threw the lizard back into Grin, who tossed him onto Siege.

"I was afraid of this…" the wraith said as the ducks ran over to the heap of lizards on the ground, "win or lose, there's no winning." He said as both he and Siege transported away from the scene.

"They got away!" Vonda exclaimed with disappointment.

"Don't let it ruffle your feathers. They do it all the time." Nosedive soothed.

"But what were they doing here in the first place?" Mallory wondered.

"I'd say they were excavating." Wildwing muttered, glancing over at the mountain.

"What would those creeps want in the middle of sand central?" Dive asked.

"Well let's see." Wildwing said, turning on the mask and looking at the mountain. "There's something in that mountain. Something with an energy pattern I've never seen before." He glanced sideways at Grin, "Grin. Care to give it a shot?" he asked, waving to the mountain.

Grin nodded, walking forward. He turned his back to the mountain, bending down and digging his fingers beneath the base of the mountain.

"That which does not bend… must break." He said, his voice straining as he practically lifted the whole mountain. The mountain cracked, causing more rocks to fall and Grin ran to join his fellow teammates out of the way. Once the dust cleared, pillars were visible bordering an entrance into the mountain.

"It's some kind of temple." Wildwing guessed out loud. "Come on team, let's check it out." He said, guiding the team into the temple.

As they walked down the hall, they came to an open room.

"Whoa." Mallory said, seeing what was in the room, "it's some kind of spaceship." She informed.

"This thing must have crashed thousands of years ago. And primitive earthlings built a temple around it and worshipped it, and whatever Dragaunus is after, it's in there." Wildwing guessed as they boarded the ship.

They walked inside to see a pedestal in the middle of the room. There was some sort of chip sitting on the pedestal. Wildwing grabbed it, holding it up.

"We better get this to a safe place until we can… analyze it." He decided.

* * *

Anna woke up. She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep again. She rubbed her head, feeling more tired than she'd been before she fell asleep. She walked over to her bookshelf, pulling out a book. She flipped through the pages, finding the last part she had been reading.

She read a little ways into it before tears suddenly filled her eyes. She slammed the book closed, unable to focus on it.

Anna was bawling before she even realized it. She let out a growl, throwing the book against the bookshelf in the corner. It clattered to the floor, and the force of it hitting the shelf sent a clutter of other books flying to the floor as well.

She ignored the incident and let herself cry. Why was it so hard? Why was it so hard to get over this? He was gone, and it didn't seem likely he was coming back, so why was she still moping around about it? Why? Her eyes rested on the knife on the dresser again. It'd be so easy. So easy to erase any pain Canard had left her. She thought back to her and Nosedive's conversation.

" _Ha, if you're going to idolize him, maybe you should have gone with him!"_

* * *

Wildwing placed the chip in a safe, pressing a few buttons and letting it lower down.

"If nobody minds, I could really use some rest. It's been quite a day." Vonda's voice was tired as she hugged herself.

"Of course, you can use my bunk." Wildwing said. Nosedive and Duke were both more than willing to walk the duck back to her bunk, but Wildwing stopped Duke for a moment as Vonda and Nosedive walked off.

"You mind checking in on Anna in a few and making sure she's okay after that little showdown with Dive earlier?" he asked. Duke nodded.

"Sure, no problem Wing." He said, heading off after Nosedive.

The two ducks stopped at Wildwing's bunk, leaning against the wall and talking to Vonda.

"If you need anything, just call me." Duke said, punching in the code.

"Forget about him. You can call on Nosedive: your numero uno lovey ducky." Nosedive offered as Vonda stepped into the room.

"Well, now that you mention it, I still haven't had a bite to eat." She tried, batting her eyelashes.

"Krewella. Race ya to the galley, sally!" Nosedive hollered as he took off running. It took Duke a minute, but soon he was running off after Nosedive too.

* * *

"I still don't trust her." Mallory muttered as she leaned against the console on Drake 1. "and I'm worried about Tanya."

"Uh, guys. It's Tanya." Their comms tuned into Tanya's voice, although there was no video image. "What am I saying, I mean, who else would it be?" the voice said.

"Tanya, where are you?" Wildwing asked.

"Uh, listen, I need you guys to get a part number for me. It's the uh, circuit board by the migrator's, you know uh, front axel housing."

"But we'll need to remove the whole engine block to get at the axel, and we need you back here." Wildwing argued.

"Yeah, well, you know it'd really save me a trip, guys!" Tanya argued.

"Alright, alright. Wildwing out." He muttered, shutting his comm.

* * *

Vonda was in Wildwing's room, using a voice changer to mimic Tanya's voice. She chuckled as she stepped on Tanya's comm.

"Suckers." She muttered. She then looked at the door. The food should keep those idiots entertained, but if it didn't… she turned to look at the bathroom door in Wildwing's room.

She went in, turning on the shower head and shutting the curtain.

"There, that should buy me enough cover." She muttered, shutting the bathroom door and leaving the light on.

"And now, to find Anna and get the chip."

* * *

"Alright, banana, swiss cheese… a little cayenne pepper…" Nosedive went off, listing ingredients as he threw them in the blender. At the same time, Duke was throwing in his own blend of ingredients.

"No, no, no. You'll just make a mess of things." He argued against the teenager.

Nosedive finished throwing his ingredients in and placed the lid on. Duke saw the lid wasn't on all the way and backed up slowly as Nosedive turned the blender on.

Green slime shot out of the blender all over Nosedive and Nosedive let out a distressed sound as he shut off the blender.

"That does it. I'm tired of being one-upped by you Duke! I don't have to take this!" Nosedive growled, his hands up in the air.

"Really." Duke said, placing an amused finger on his chin, "look at your contract lately? Just uh, check out the loser clause." He trailed off.

Nosedive looked confused but reached into his pocket anyways, pulling out a little book. He flipped through some pages before deciding on one.

"Okay," he said, trailing down the page with his finger, "in the event of conflict, with Duke, over the affections of a beautiful female…." He trailed off, glancing up, "I agree to lose." He shook his head. "I gotta get a new agent."

"Yeah, and I better go check on Anna." Duke finally said, glancing at his watch before walking off. "Have fun uh, serving up green slime to the beautiful female." Duke said, letting out a chuckle. Dive shook his head, dumping his slime into the garbage disposal.

"Alright, going from scratch." He said, cracking his knuckles and beginning his work yet again, but moving away from the blender and just grabbing out a plate from the cupboard and moving towards the fridge.

* * *

Duke walked up to Anna's room.

"Sweetheart?" he said, pressing the button to the mic. She didn't answer but he didn't think anything of it. She might have been in the shower or sleeping.

"You there?" he said a little louder so he might be able to wake her if she were asleep. She still didn't say anything, and the door didn't open. He cocked an eyebrow, wondering why she wasn't responding. He opened his comm, trying to contact Anna. The comm buzzed and buzzed, but didn't receive a response. He sighed out, tapping in Anna's code to get into the room. The door slid open and he let out a gasp.

"Oh shit…" he trailed off, rushing forward, picking Anna up off the floor by the dresser. As he pulled her up into his arms, a knife fell from her hand. "Sweetheart, you promised." He tried, but there was no response. Her eyes were closed and he reached up to the dresser, pulled open the first drawer he got to and grabbed a t-shirt to wrap around the wrist that had blood seeping out of it.

"Oh sweetheart." He said, burying his head into her neck and holding her close.

"Duke?" he turned back to see Nosedive walking past with a plate of fruit. He saw Anna laying on the ground and dropped the plate. The plate broke into pieces and the fruit went rolling everywhere as Nosedive ran into the room, going to Anna's other side.

"Anna?" he asked, his eyes filled with worry. He grabbed for her hand, and saw the t-shirt wrapped around her arm, soaking up blood. He looked down and saw the puddle that must have been forming this whole time.

"What happened?" he asked Duke. Duke shook his head.

"Don't know, kid. I mean, it looks…" he trailed off, meeting Nosedive's eyes. "it looks like she might have done this herself."

"No, no. someone else did this. The creepasauri snuck in." Nosedive tried.

"Dive, they can't get in here. If they had, alarms would have been going off all over the place."

"Well then… I mean…." Dive was running out of answers as he pressed down on the t-shirt around Anna's arm.

Duke reached over, placing a gentle hand on Nosedive's wrist, getting the younger duck's attention.

"Call your brother. I'll call an ambulance."

* * *

Wildwing shook his head as the ambulance pulled away. Mallory had tried to go with Anna to the hospital, but Wildwing insisted the hospital would call asap when they knew anything and Mallory would be no help to them at the hospital.

"What a day." He muttered, turning back around and walking back in.

"Tell me about it." Duke shook his head, following them in.

"First Tanya decides to run off to 'Lectric land, then Anna…" Mallory trailed off as the exited the elevator to Drake 1, "well, you know, and then there was no circuit board where Tanya said it would be." Mallory added, remembering what she, Wing and Grin had been looking for before Nosedive had called them in a panic.

"Unless it was a rouse." Wildwing muttered.

"Wildwing," Mallory grabbed his arm, "check the safe."

"You needn't bother. It's gone." Vonda sat there with her head hung, "I took it and I sent it to Dragaunus."

"You lousy traitor!" Mallory growled, looking like she might jump on Vonda.

"I had no choice!" she insisted, jumping up, "Dragaunus abducted my parents from Puckworld. If I don't do what he says, he'll…" she turned away, covering her face with her hands.

"If that's true, then you should have told us a lot sooner." Wildwing said.

"Look, I know where Dragaunus is. I know what he plans to do with that chip." Vonda said, turning around and looking as if she could see a ray of hope, "if I help, will you rescue my folks?" she asked, putting her hands on Wildwing's shoulders.

"Of course." He promised, grabbing her arms and taking them off of him, "but first, we stop Dragaunus."

* * *

Anna woke up, shaking her head. She felt light headed before remembering what happened.

She sat up in her bed.

"Lucretia's here!" she exclaimed in the empty room. A nurse walked in and looked surprised to see Anna awake.

"Oh, you're up." She said.

"I've gotta go." She insisted, pulling away from the bed. She had an IV in her arm, and she held out her arm for the nurse. "Get this thing out of me." She insisted.

"Oh sweetie, I can't let you go. You need to get your vitals checked to make sure you're in good health."

"Dammit, woman! Lives are at stake! Get me my doctor!" she ordered. The nurse sheepishly stepped out.

Not a moment later, Jurgens walked in.

"Ah, Anna. How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'll be a lot better once this IV is out of me." She insisted.

"Cindy said you want to get out of here. Any particular reason why?" he asked and she gave him a weird look.

"Doc, what are you talking about? I need to get to the guys. I don't think they know who they're dealing with." She insisted.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to get out from beneath our eyes so you can, you know, try again?" he tried. She cocked her head at him.

"Try what? What are you talking about?" she asked. He motioned to her left wrist, which had a bandage wrapped all around it. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh, no no no… I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. Besides, I am left handed. How would I have done this?" she asked, lifting her arm as if she was making a point, "I need to get to my team now before they end up like this too." She insisted. Jurgens gave her a look.

"Look, Anna, I know you've been through a lot but-"

"Doc, I've got about 5 more seconds of nice left in me. Lucretia Decoy is here on this planet and I have no idea how she got here, all I know is my team is in big trouble and if you don't let me go now, you could end up with six ducks in the morgue." Anna said. Jurgens looked like he was considering this.

"Against my better judgement… I'm letting you go." He finally said, moving over to remove the IV. "but I swear, Anna, if this is some cute game you're trying to play."

"I promise, doc. It's not. Thank you." She said, standing up from the bed. She got dizzy almost instantly but shook it off as she grabbed her clothes from the foot of the bed. She got dressed in under a minute and was soon running out the door.

Duke stared out the window as they traveled. Something suddenly dawned on him. Anna was left handed… at least when they would spar, she'd hold her saber with her left hand. He got a weird look on his face, and Wildwing saw it.

"What?" he asked. Duke shook his head.

"It was her left wrist that was cut, wasn't it?" Duke asked. Wildwing looked taken aback but nodded.

"Uh, yeah." He said.

"That's… that doesn't sound right…" Duke muttered, trailing off. Wildwing looked confused before something dawned on him.

When he wasn't the goalie, he held the stick with his right hand down and his left hand up on the butt of the stick. He'd seen the way Anna had played for years, and he knew she played the other way around. She played left handed.

Wait a minute….

 _She's left hand dominant!_ Wildwing shook his head, looking back at Duke. Duke crossed his arms, but nodded, showing he was thinking the same thing.

He glanced back at Vonda. He had made Nosedive drive, so the female was all alone, staring out a window. He looked back to the front, rubbing his chin. He knew that no one on his team would dare try to hurt Anna, and if she was left handed that certainly had to mean she hadn't done it herself… Dragaunus and his goons had no way to access the pond. That left only one culprit. He couldn't be sure, so he kept it to himself.

* * *

"Help!" Anna heard a call from the rafters as she entered the pond. "Or at least throw me something to read." She heard the sarcastic muttering coming from Tanya.

She ran up to the rafters and saw Phil had also heard the sounds of distress and had already pushed a button to bring the jumbotron up to the railing they were standing on.

"Tanya, what are you doing up here?" Phil asked.

"Light housekeeping. What do you think? Now get me loose!" she demanded. Phil did as he was told, pressing the button on the electric cuffs that kept Tanya in the position she was in. Anna ran up on them.

"Tanya, where are the guys?" she asked.

"What? How should I know? I've been stuck up here most of the show!" Tanya shot back.

"They went somewhere with that gorgeous duck." Phil said, looking dreamy eyed. Tanya and Anna shot each other a worried look.

"We've gotta stop them!" Anna exclaimed. Tanya nodded.

"They don't know who she is." She agreed as they took off running.

* * *

Wildwing scanned the building with the mask, seeing Dragaunus inside with his stooges.

"You were telling the truth, Vonda. They're in there alright." Wildwing confirmed, turning back to his team.

"There's a building in the back. We can take them from behind." She said, taking the lead. Wildwing grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait, are you certain it's safe?" he asked.

"It's just a storage unit. I doubt they'll be guarding it." She tried, shrugging. She glanced back at Wildwing who rubbed his chin in thought.

"Okay, let's go." He said, waving his team forward.

"This way." Vonda said as she opened a door. The ducks followed her in.

"I don't like the smell of this." Nosedive muttered from his spot. Suddenly, the floor fell out from beneath them and they landed in a huge glass cylinder. The lid closed down automatically.

"You pathetic saps." Vonda's voice seemed to change as she walked forward toward a valve handle in front of them.

"Does this mean our date's off?" Nosedive asked, almost immediately receiving a slap to the back of his head from Mallory.

"Oh, you've got a date alright!" she said, as she cranked the valve open. Nosedive heard something and went over to the opening in their container to see what was happening. He was hit in the face and thrown back by rushing water.

"With about ten thousand gallons of water!" Vonda announced.

She laughed maniacally as the water encircled the ducks.

"Thanks for helping me find the proteus chip, suckers!" she said, removing the valve handle and giving it a toss. "here's where we say goodbye." She said, walking away.

"You know, I'm beginning to find that lady… somewhat less attractive." Duke muttered.

"Only somewhat?" Mallory asked, bewildered.

"Well, now we know how Anna ended up in the hospital again." Wildwing muttered and his teammates all turned back to where Vonda had walked off.

* * *

 _author's note: sorry guys, I've kind of lost motivation on this. I am still about a chapter and a half ahead, but if I don't find motivation soon, I might fall behind... anyways, if you've stuck this far with me, thanks, and I apologize if the talk of suicide was a little much for some of you._


	8. A traitor among us: pt 3

_Author's note: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Always gets me pumped to see people responding and getting into my stories! So, I won't keep you waiting! Here's the next chapter!_

* * *

Lucretia Decoy walked into the room where Dragaunus was prepping his heat ray.

"Ah, in about 2 minutes your duck problems will be all over." She announced.

"You have done well, Lucretia." He praised.

"In moments, the chip will be installed, and then I'll destroy the human cities one by one until the world bows down before me!"

* * *

"This isn't going the way I planned." Wildwing admitted as they floated towards the cap.

"You actually had a plan?" Nosedive asked, confused.

"Well, yeah. But I kind of hoped to stick around to see the end of it." He confessed.

"Hey guys!" Tanya and Anna jumped down on top of the lid.

"Hurry Tanya! We're gonna drown!" Mallory exclaimed.

"Ah, don't be ridiculous! Ducks can't…" she trailed off, "uh, right! I'm hurrying! I'm hurrying!"

She walked around the top of the container while Anna jumped down.

"Anna? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the hospital!" Duke partly scolded.

"Yeah, well, I'd rather make sure you guys stay out of the morgue." She shot at him and he shook his head with a light smile on his beak. She was sounding like her old self again.

"The guy that designed this was an over achiever. It would take hours to pry the cap off with the omnitool." She said, working through this problem, "I could bypass the generator but, you know, who knows how long that would take." She said, jumping down.

"Now, Tanya!" Nosedive exclaimed. She looked to where the valve handle used to be.

"And, you know, someone's removed the valve handle so I can't even, uh, shut off the water and… awe, to hell with it!" she said, walking back to where Anna stood. She took out her pucklauncher, aiming at the container. The container burst open and the ducks came floating out onto the floor.

"Tanya, do you always have to cut things so close?" Nosedive asked. Tanya held out her hand, helping him up.

"Well, that's what you get for fooling around with Lucretia Decoy." Tanya explained.

"With whom?" Duke asked.

"What, you've never heard of Lucretia Decoy?" Tanya asked. "She's the worse traitor on Puckworld."

"I'd never seen her face." Wildwing said, looking to be in thought. He motioned towards Anna. "Anna told me about her back on Puckworld. She was Dragaunus' chief spy, and she nearly wiped out the resistance."

"And you wanted a date with her." Mallory mocked Nosedive.

"Hey, I ain't picky." He defended.

"Wait, how is it Anna and Tanya knew about her?" Duke asked. Anna met his gaze.

"She helped Dragaunus attack Tanya's base first. The survivors from that base fell back to our base, and at the time we just thought Lucretia was a survivor, until the same thing happened to our base. We realized the bombs had been set up on the inside. We picked Lucretia out of the crowd and called her on her shit, but before we could do anything, she teleported away." Anna explained.

"Wait, Mal. I thought you were military too? Why didn't you recognize Lucretia?" Nosedive asked.

"Mal was at South base, the last base that hadn't been hit yet." Anna explained.

"So you and Tanya were the only ones in our group who would recognize her." Wildwing concluded. Anna nodded.

"That explains why Tanya went missing early on and why Lucretia tried to get rid of you." Wildwing added.

"Now come on, we've gotta jump Dragaunus."

"The guy with a heat ray powerful enough to fry the world? How?" Mallory demanded, stepping in front of him.

"he only thinks he has a heat ray. Actually, I put a chip from one of our freeze pucks in the safe."

"So what happened to the real chip?" Tanya asked.

"Oh, it's around." He said casually.

* * *

"In a matter of seconds, Washington D.C. will just be a mass of melted monuments." Dragaunus announced as he fired up the heat ray. The ray glowed red, and then glowed blue as it started to shake.

"What the devil!" Dragaunus growled as the ray suddenly exploded, sending them all flying back. He stood up, glaring back at Lucretia.

"That proteus chip. It's a fake!" he accused.

"The ducks must have switched it!" she exclaimed.

"Or you did!" he said, turning on her. "Siege, search her!" he ordered.

The wraith grabbed onto Lucretia's arm while Siege reached into her pocket. He pulled the proteus chip out that Wildwing had managed to hide on her earlier.

"Well, looky here! Trying to double cross the big boy, ay?" he accused.

"Somebody planted it on me, I swear!" she said, turning back to Dragaunus.

"Silence!" Dragaunus ordered, coming over and taking the real chip from Siege. He pulled out a teleporter, holding it out to Lucretia.

"Use this to return to the raptor. I'll deal with you later." He ordered.

"Yes, my lord." She muttered with her head hung. A whirlwind appeared behind her and she suddenly felt a weird feeling.

"Wh- What's happening to me!" she exclaimed.

"I set that teleporter to take you into dimensional limbo, from which there is no escape!" he growled. Lucretia screamed as she disappeared into the gateway.

"My first efforts may have been sabotaged, but at least I have the real proteus chip now!" he said, holding it up.

"Not for long, lizard lips!" Wildwing said as he kicked the door down. He fired a puck, knocking the chip from Dragaunus' hand.

"Take em team!" he ordered. Tanya and Duke jumped on Wraith. Wildwing and Nosedive took down Dragaunus. Mallory and Grin grabbed onto Siege, and Anna took down the Chameleon.

"Activate your teleporters!" Wildwing ordered, "let's all take a trip on the raptor."

Dragaunus looked to be in thought for a moment, "No." he finally said.

"This is an arms factory, Wildwing." He explained, "we're sitting on an ammunitions dump. If you don't release us in fifteen seconds, the drones will blow this place sky high!" he said as his drones aimed for the crates sitting around the warehouse.

"Let him do it if he's got the guts!" Mallory threatened. "I say we all go out together."

"No!" Wildwing said, "my first priority as leader is to protect the safety of this team!" he argued.

"Release us, and we'll return to the raptor without incident. I give you my word."

"I guess I don't have any choice." Wildwing muttered, letting go of Dragaunus' arm.

Mallory was the last of the ducks to let go, and it was relunctant as she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Just one more thing." Dragaunus said after his henchmen had already teleported away. He turned around, firing at one of the crates. It exploded and started off a chain reaction with the other crates in the building. "I never keep my word." He said smugly as he teleported away.

"That sleeze bag!" Nosedive shouted as he followed after his brother. The rest of the team followed suit as Wildwing fired an explosive puck at the wall, creating a hole. The team ran out and took cover outside behind a cement barrier. They popped their heads back up, looking at the building that was now on fire.

"I think we've done enough damage for one day." Tanya muttered from her spot.

* * *

Mallory, Nosedive, Duke and Anna walked down the hall.

"I'm gonna change and hit the mall." Mallory announced, walking into her room. "I've earned some R&R." she said as the door closed. Anna leaned up against the wall.

"Can you believe we're actually knocking ourselves out over a traitor?" Nosedive asked, looking at Duke.

"Eh, the good-lookin' ones are always trouble." Duke muttered.

"Now there's a message you don't get on your average cartoon show!" Nosedive said and Anna let out a laugh at him.

At that moment, the doors opened up to Mallory's room and she came walking out with a short dress on, a long pink scarf, her hair was done up, and she was in high heels.

"Anyone care to join me for a mall crawl?" she asked.

"Mallory's a babe!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"Ooh, Mal Mal, you have been hiding your light under a hockey uniform." Duke said suavely, as he leaned up against the wall next to her.

Anna started snickering from her spot, shaking her head.

Mallory shrugged, walking away from the boys.

"Hey Duke, you wanna compete for her affectionase?"

"Is that even a word?" Anna looked confused from her spot.

"Nah!" the guys said in unison, giving each other a hi-five as they turned around to walk the other way. Anna kind of gave a light, genuine smile as she followed after the guys.

"How about a friendly game of checkers, huh?" Duke asked.

"I could go for some hot cocoa right about now." Dive added.

"You know, I might even curl up with a good book." Duke said as the three of them walked down the hall.

They walked into the galley and Nosedive started up a kettle of hot water for the hot chocolate. Anna sat down at the table, rubbing the bandage on her arm.

Duke sat down next to her, taking her hand.

"You know, that kind of gave me a scare back there." He said, motioning towards her arm. She sighed, looking away.

"Especially me." Dive said, sitting down on her other side, "I thought maybe, you know, it was what I said." He trailed off and her eyes widened at this.

"Dive it…" she trailed off, looking away.

"What happened, sweetheart?" Duke asked, knowing he and Dive both wanted to know what happened between Lucretia and Anna.

"Guys, I gotta confess… the knife was actually already in my hand when Lucretia walked in." she admitted, looking down. Duke and Nosedive both looked wide eyed at her.

"Why?" Duke asked.

"I guess… everything came crashing down around me. My unborn baby was dead, my brother wasn't coming back. I don't wanna say this but it felt like I was unwanted." She admitted, and Nosedive glanced at Duke with a guilty look on his face. "I wasn't helping the team. I was staying in my room, moping around. I wasn't contributing. I finally came out of my den to help coach a game, to finally do something with you guys and I end up acting like my brother. It…" she trailed off, a tear coming to her eye, "it felt like you guys might be better off without me." She admitted, looking down. She looked back up, giving them a serious look.

"But I promise you guys, I didn't do it. I imagined my brother seeing me like that, and it stopped me. At about that time, my door slid open. I honestly was afraid it was you, Duke. Or Wildwing. To my surprise and terror, in stepped Lucretia Decoy. She said something like "here, let me help you with that." And grabbed the knife from me. I felt this pain in my arm and then she put the knife into my hand."

"I knew you didn't do it sweetheart." Duke revealed.

"How?" she asked, curious.

"You're left handed… why or how would you be able to cut your left arm open like that?" he asked, and she smiled at him.

"I knew too." She was shocked to hear Wildwing behind her and turned to look at him. The duck walked in behind her. "You play hockey left handed." He said simply.

"Well, good to know my left handiness came in handy." She muttered, turning back around in her chair.

"Look, Annie… about what I said earlier." Dive tried, taking her hand, "I didn't mean it… I mean, Canard was always quick to critique me. Always. So, when you came into the locker room to coach me, I instantly was reminded of a high school game back on Puckworld. It almost sounded exactly like his speech, and I guess it reminded me that he was like a brother to me too and… I miss him too Annie." He said.

"We all do." Wildwing put in, placing his hand on Anna's shoulder. She smiled at Nosedive and then at Wildwing.

"I know you guys do. I think somewhere in my mourning state, I forgot I wasn't the only one grieving." She admitted.

"I don't blame you for thinking that, Anna." Wildwing said, "Honestly, I've kind of tucked it away. I have to."

"Yeah, if you shut down like I did, we wouldn't have a leader." Anna agreed. Wildwing nodded.

"Not only that, but I know he's not dead. He's just trapped in dimensional Limbo. We'll find him again, I know we will." He promised, hugging Anna from behind. She smiled, hugging him back.

"You're right Wing." She admitted, smiling. "I'm done moping around about this." She added.

"Anna, you weren't moping, you were grieving." Duke tried, patting her hand.

"I don't care what it was. It almost got you killed. Before, when I said I felt like you guys would be better off without me… I realize now, if I wouldn't have been moping around and thinking that in the first place, I would have been with you guys when Lucretia showed up. I could have stopped any of this from happening. I mean, you guys almost died." She tried. Wildwing nodded.

"We could have, but you and Tanya came through in the end." He praised, smiling. She smiled back at him and the kettle started whistling. Wildwing gave it a weird look and made an even weirder face when Nosedive was the one that stood up to grab it.

"Dive, you drinking tea now?" he asked skeptically.

"Nah, getting some hot chocolate. Want some?" he offered. Wildwing smiled.

"Yeah, sure. I could go for a cup."

* * *

 _Author's note: I feel like the whole suggestion of suicide thing was the most intense thing I've ever written. I'm very nervous and scared that I didn't write it very well so please, please please I am looking for honest critique on it, cause right now I feel like I'm either the author that grips you into the story and takes you on a rollercoaster of emotion, or the dud who tries to do exactly that but fails epically. So, for sure, please comment. I'm excited to read the reviews! And, if it wasn't clear, in this ending here I'm bringing Anna out of her depressed state._

 _There was probably a million ways I could have had her avoid Lucretia during the episode, but I had already made her super depressed that her unborn baby had died and her brother was missing so I decided to kind of go off this idea and roll with it. Also, I realize I'm putting Anna in all these life-threatening situations but hopefully that'll stop for at least a little while here. Especially since in the next episode… wait, no, the one after that Dive ends up in trouble. Like I said before, the series wasn't nearly as intense as it could have been in some places so I feel like I'm definitely going to make Dive's concussion seem more intense than it was portrayed in the actual series. I'm basically rewriting the series for us now grown-ups. Lol grown-up themes, grown-up language, etc. etc._

 _Anyways, if you've stuck with me this far, thanks! And if the suggestion of suicide was a little much for you, I do apologize and hopefully things will calm down at least for a little bit so if it was a little much for you, your head will get a break for at least a few episodes. Anyways, that is all, hope you enjoyed and look forward to more!_

 _P.S. before I forget, I haven't finished the next chapter... it's been in the process of being written for about three weeks now. I'm finding it hard to find motivation and Idk if it's because I've started working on a fanfiction for another fandom or what, but I'm just losing my speed on this story. I'm hoping I'm able to jump back into this next week and hopefully I'll be able to get some more chapters written... another thing. I did some math, and if I continue to do every single episode splitting them into 3 chapters at a time, I'll end up writing over 50 chapters for this story alone..._

 _So, for the rest of the episodes from here on out, I am considering uploading just one chapter for one whole episode... keep in mind, this might mean I'd have to push updates to every two weeks instead of every week since I'd be trying to pack into one chapter what would normally be three chapters. I still don't know what I'm thinking about doing. If you have an opinion or even a suggestion of what to do, please share in the reviews! Would you rather have me update 50+ chapters on one story, upload episode long chapters just once every two weeks... I could try to do episodes every week since obviously the series did that... or do you have a suggestion you'd like to shoot my way?_

 _Please, I'm always open to suggestions and it's honestly kind of up to you since you're the reader. I'll probably still do it my way, but your opinion could steer me a certain direction. Thanks! Have a great week!_


	9. Zap Attack: pt 1

_Author's note as of 4/17/17: so I'm going to keep putting chapters up like I have been where I cut the chapter off at the actual commercial break. Until someone requests otherwise, it just works for me. When summer comes and I have more time… or if I happen to find more motivation somewhere, maybe I'll try to upload them as "an episode at a time"… You know, if I find motivation now and finish this whole episode before the week is up, maybe I'll upload three new chapters on Friday… Zap Attack pt. 1, 2 and 3. We'll just have to see where I'm at at that time._

 _4/21/17: so I am going to keep doing it the way I'm doing it. I did get most of pt. 2 done, but until summer comes and I have much more time, I think this will have to do. So during the summer, I'll try to upload whole episodes at a time. But for now, I'll just stick with doing 1/3 of episodes. Love you all and enjoy!_

The woman was rocking the baby to sleep as her young son played with a toy truck on the floor.

She looked down at the baby girl and smiled, seeing she was asleep. She stood up carefully and quietly and laid the child down in the crib.

Her son stood up, following her over. He knew to be quiet whenever his mommy was laying the baby down for bed, so he just simply stood there, watching his baby sister sleep.

"There we go." His mother said softly as the weight of the baby left her arms. She stood there, looking at the baby for a moment.

The young boy smiled up at his mother before turning back to the baby girl.

"You love your sister, don't you?" his mother said, seeing the look on his face.

"Yeah, mommy. I do." He said, nodding with a smile. He reached through the crib, taking the infant's hand gently into his.

She smiled before suddenly she heard a window break downstairs.

"Mommy? What was that?" he asked, his eyes going wide with worry.

"I don't know." She admitted, shoving him into the closet. "Stay in here, and don't make a sound. Hide underneath the clothes!" she ordered, lowering him into the pile of laundry and shutting the closet door.

He hid, looking through the cracks in the louvered door. He saw shadows approach his mother. Something happened, and he saw her fall to the floor. The shadows began throwing objects around and suddenly, he heard his baby sister start crying once her crib got knocked over. He wanted to run out but remembered what his mother had told him. _Stay in here, and don't make a sound._

He waited for the evil people to leave, but once they were gone and he thought it might be safe, he heard the hallway floor creaking. He scooted back under the pile of clothes and waited. He saw a… no way… a duck walk into the room. She had blond hair and tan feathers. She walked over to his mother who was laying on the floor. Words were exchanged, but he couldn't hear what was being said. Afterwards, the duck made her way over to the crib.

The duck bent down and when she stood back up, he saw she was holding his baby sister. She looked around, as if she was confused before she walked back out of the nursery.

The little boy felt new bravery as he felt compelled to chase after the duck and get his baby sister back, but when he exited the nursery, the duck had vanished without a trace….

The twenty-year-old shot awake, sitting straight up in bed. He rubbed his head, glancing over at the screen that he had apparently accidentally left on all night. The screen was flashing different camera views of "The Pond", the hockey stadium in the town he lived in; the town he had always lived in. "This Tuesday Night, come on down and support your Mighty Ducks!" some off-screen announcer said as the team flashed across the screen. His eyes narrowed on one of the ducks. He had blond hair and tan feathers and no doubt looked like the duck that had taken his sister many years ago. "I'll find out what happened to ya, sis. If it's the last thing I do." He promised to nobody, his glare getting darker as he stared at the TV screen.

* * *

The day was sunny out, but found one duck plopping in front of the TV, flipping it on.

"Ah, alright. Nothing like the tube to massage this duck's overworked brain."

"You mean your brain actually works?" Tanya sassed, walking up behind him.

An announcer suddenly was heard through the TV, mentioning something about a Dr. Huggerman going into hiding.

Nosedive muttered something about the show sounding boring, and he went to change the channel, but Tanya stopped him.

"Hold it! That's a friend of mine!"

"Authorities say they'll search for Huggerman quote: when we get around to it."

Tanya's face fell at this information before she turned to walk away.

"Yo, wait up!" Dive called, following after her.

* * *

Duke and Anna were both panting as they walked down the hill back towards the pond. Anna was wearing a blue tank top and short shorts while Duke was wearing a pair of jeans, which was a big mistake. He had pulled his t-shirt off about halfway up the mountain, and had tucked it in the back of his jeans.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Anna. You were right. It was worth it." Duke said between breaths.

"I told ya! Though I bet it's even more beautiful at night." She tried as she tapped in the code to unlock the pond doors. Duke smiled. He knew she was right. Especially if there was a clear night, it'd be gorgeous. The hill was located nearly right behind the Pond, but it was tall enough that it overlooked the pond and the rest of the city. Hell, it was a tall enough hill to get Duke winded. Duke knew he wanted to climb back up at night, or at least around dusk, and by her tone it sounded like Anna wanted to also. They rounded the ice rink and headed towards the elevator.

Once down in the lower levels of the pond, they walked to the galley. Duke sat down at the table, obviously winded, while Anna dug around in the fridge.

"Strawberry?" she asked, holding up the bowl of fresh strawberries.

"I thought you'd never ask, sweetheart." Duke said, smiling as she joined him at the table.

* * *

"You really know that guy, Tanya?" Nosedive asked as they walked up to Drake 1's panel where they had a phone. Tanya smiled as she picked up the phone.

"Oh sure, I met him at 'Lectric Land. We talk about science, exchange data and, well, actually we play a lot of cards." She admitted, dialing and holding the phone up to her ear.

The phone rang and came up with a prerecorded message, "hello, you have reached the 'where's Dr. Huggerman hotline', today's answer is: None of your business! I've gone from society!"

Tanya pulled the phone away from her ear, looking back at Nosedive.

"But I don't understand it…" she trailed off, "maybe he went to his island!" she said, snapping her fingers.

"whoa, the guy has an island?" Nosedive asked.

"Oh sure, just a little one off the coast." She muttered, "but it doesn't have a phone." She hung the phone up in defeat. At about that moment, the alarm started going off on Drake 1.

"Seriously?" Anna said, dropping the strawberry she was about to take a bite of. She and Duke did a quick change into their battle gear. Anna threw the bowl into the fridge and then turned to follow Duke down the hallway.

The other ducks had already gathered.

"There's a break-in at orbital industries!" Mallory announced.

"Let's rock, ducks!" Wildwing ordered and the team took off towards the aerowing

* * *

The twenty-year-old shoved his hands into his jean pockets, walking down the street. He stopped once he reached the big building that stood on his left. He walked up, curiously trying the door. The door stuck in place and he sighed out. Why did he think it would be unlocked? He'd have to wait for a game before he'd be able to get close. He shook his head, walking on past before anyone could see him and question what he was doing.

* * *

The aerowing landed and the ducks ran out, seeing Siege and Wraith firing upon the humans. "We've gotta get them away from that rocket!" Wildwing ordered. The chameleon was talking into his communicator. By the sounds of it, he was updating Dragaunus on what was going on in their latest mission. "Roger. We'll orbit their tailfeathers." Came Chameleon's reply to whatever Dragaunus had said. "Orbit this!" Nosedive came barreling into Chameleon's side. Chameleon fell back, and his communicator went flying off. Wildwing ran up on Siege, but Siege was quick, swinging his tail around, knocking Wildwing back. Tanya, Mallory and Duke barreled into Siege, knocking him back. "Wildwing, you alright?" Anna called as she ran over to him. She held out her hand, helping him up. "Never better." He muttered, standing up. Nosedive, in the meantime had thrown the Chameleon back. At the same time, Grin picked up one of the cargo-containers, tossing it at Siege. Siege had to run to get out of the way. "Let 'em have it!" Wildwing ordered, and soon the ducks were firing upon the saurians. It wasn't long until Siege and Chameleon gave up, teleporting away. "They must have been trying to sabotage this rocket." Wildwing guessed, glancing up. Duke walked over by one of the containers. "Oh, looks like they left a communicator behind." He mused, picking up the object he'd been inspecting. "That could be useful." Wildwing informed, "Come on. We got a game." He added, ushering the team back to the aerowing.

Once they returned to the pond, Anna found herself standing in front of the mirror, putting her mane into a braid. She had changed out of her shorts and settled for jeans and a pair of sneakers. She wore just a plain t-shirt. A few days ago, her and Wildwing had had a talk and although she still practiced with the team, she settled for the "coaching" position while the rest of the ducks played. She didn't dress out for games, but she was also on the roster as a sub just in case something happened, though no number was next to her name. She had actually had a jersey recently made, much to Phil's dismay, and she was excited to wear it for tonight's game.

Anna walked into the locker room as the team dressed out for the game. Wildwing caught her eye as he laced up his skates and she smiled at him as she walked over to her locker. There was no reason to be shy in the locker room, as everyone else was getting dressed, so she pulled off her t-shirt and shoved it in the locker before pulling out a jersey. She wasn't playing in the game, she was the coach, so for her to be putting on a jersey herself was odd. All the ducks in the locker room perked up as she pulled the jersey off the hangar and slid it on. Since her back was turned, all the ducks saw the number **12** on the back right beneath the name **Thunderbeak.** Wildwing smiled genuinely at this, looking back down to finish tying his other skate.

"Yo, Annie. Where'd you get the new jersey?" Nosedive asked, finishing tying up his skate and walking over to stand next to her.

"I went ahead and had it made. I wanted something so I could support my team." She said simply.

"It's a little small, ain't it?" Duke asked, walking over as well. It fit her nicely, hugging her curves.

"um, no?" she said, glancing up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, how in the world do you expect to fit pads underneath that jersey if you ever have to play for one of us?" he asked.

"Well, hopefully that will never happen…" she said, trailing off, "but, if it will help you sleep at night…" she reached into the locker, pulling out a bigger replica of what she was already wearing, except the number was different.

"Um, Anna? The number's wrong." Duke said, pointing at the 7 that rested underneath Thunderbeak.

"No… it's not." Wildwing spoke up for her and she smiled at him. "Now come on." He said, moving towards the entrance to the rink.

With that, the conversation was over as Nosedive and Duke followed the rest of the ducks obediently out onto the ice.

* * *

The game went on until the ducks were tied with the opposing team, 3 to 3, in the third period. Nosedive had the puck and shot at the goalie but unfortunately, his shot was blocked.

"Man, we can't catch a break tonight." He muttered, skating back to get into position. Anna tapped her marker on the board before drawing out a play they'd gone over in practice once before. She scratched her head before nodding, looking back up to the game. She'd give the ducks the rundown of the play during the next timeout.

It took a while, but finally the announcer called a commercial break meaning they could meet at the bench and talk for 2 minutes or so.

"Alright, guys." Anna started, passing everyone their water bottle.

"We're getting our tail feathers kicked." Nosedive muttered.

"No, not kicked…" Anna trailed off, pointing up at the scoreboard. "3 to 3, Dive. If y'all were getting your tailfeathers kicked, it would be 0 to 3." She dragged her point across.

"Yeah, okay." Dive muttered, crossing his arms, "but still. How are we supposed to pull out of this?" he asked.

"You guys remember going over that new play? The fierce grinner?" she asked. Everyone nodded slowly. Tanya raised her hand for a second.

"Um, Anna. We've only gone over that once. Hell, we just barely put it together." She muttered from her spot.

"I know, Tanya. But it's a risk we're going to have to try to take. Unless you want to go into overtime." She shot the blond a look. Tanya sighed out before nodding.

"Alright, let's do it." She said.

"I drew it up, you know, in case you need to see it again." She held out her clipboard as everyone huddled around her.

"So Duke goes over here…" she drew a line with her marker. "In the meantime, Dive heads this way. And that's where Grin comes in…" she trailed off, glancing up at the bigger duck. She explained the rest of the play and glanced around at the ducks.

"You guys think you got it?" she asked. Tanya glanced back up at the clock. They had 39 seconds to make this happen or else they were going into overtime.

"Hey, Tanya. Don't look at the clock." Anna ordered, "the time doesn't matter, Tanya. It's what you do with it. You've got this." Anna promised the blond. Tanya just nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Alright, let's run this play." She said. The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the timeout.

"Go get em guys!" Anna shouted as her team took their positions back on the ice.

 _38…37…36_ Nosedive steals the puck from the other team. _35…34…33…_ Clean pass to Mallory. She looks nervous for a second before doubling back, surprising the defense that's following her. _32…31…30…29…_ The defense turns back, but way too slow. _28…27…26..._ Clean pass to Tanya, surprising the other team. Why would they pass to a defenseman? Wouldn't they want their forwards to have the puck? Not much time left on the clock… _25…24…23...22…_ Mallory circles around her own net, meeting Wildwing's worried gaze for a brief second. _21… 20… 19…_ Tanya fakes a pass back to Mallory… _18…17…16…_ Nosedive flies in front of Mallory and she fakes a hand off. _15…14…13…_ Tanya's eyes dart around her, looking for the resident former jewel thief. The defense is closing in on her, having figured out their trick. _12…11…10…_ Duke darts in front of her and she hands it off as the defense comes to a skidding halt in front of her. _9…8…7…_ Clean pass to Grin before the defense even realizes what's happening. Grin is completely in the open. _6…_

"Five seconds to go! Grin with the puck…" the announcer yells over the speakers. Anna's eyes are glued to Grin. She's gripping onto the clipboard harder than she realizes. Grin shoots, and the puck hits the other team's goalie square in the chest, knocking him, along with the puck, back into the net. The buzzer sounds as a 4 shows up next to the Mighty Ducks on the scoreboard.

Anna leaped into the air, throwing the clipboard up in her excitement and letting it clatter to the floor.

Her team gathered in the circle as they always did after a game.

A twenty-year-old sat amongst the crowd. He looked out of place. Most of the people here were wearing Mighty Ducks jerseys. Some were wearing the opposing team's colors, but most were wearing the teal and purple that supported the team of Anaheim. He, on the other hand, wore a long black trench coat with black combat boots. His long brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail, his usual style lately. His sapphire blue eyes trailed down to the box where a duck stood, cheering for the team's win only seconds ago. She wasn't the one he wanted to question, but she would do. He stood up, moving towards the box.

Before he could get more than two steps towards her, the jumbotron above the ice exploded, and some electric energy creature popped out, shooting around the ice and knocking the ducks about. He watched as the coach jumped from the bench, over the wall and onto the ice, joining her team.

"It's time for a quick change!" Wildwing ordered as Anna joined them on the ice. In a blur of yellow light, they all switched from team gear to battle gear.

The creature went sprinting away towards the underground.

"Let's move!" Anna ordered, seeming to forget for a moment Wildwing was the one in charge. He didn't seem to mind as they all ran off towards the rec room.

"Alright, where'd he go?" Mallory asked as they exited the elevator.

"He could be anywhere in this place." Wildwing responded as they all separated, looking around for the little yellow blur of electricity.

Suddenly, the creature's face appeared on the screen of Drake 1. He popped out of the screen, busting it as he jumped into the console. He jumped in and out of the console like a dolphin in the ocean. Nosedive and Mallory fired a couple of pucks in its direction. The pucks missed, smacking against the console.

"Hold it!" Wildwing shouted, running over and lowering Mallory's launcher, "you're blasting our gear!"

The creature went hopping towards where Tanya, Duke, Grin and Anna stood.

"It's heading this way!" Tanya exclaimed. The creature jumped out of the console onto the floor. Tanya saw her chance and took a shot. The puck lined up nicely with the creature… and split it right in half, turning it into two energy creatures.

"Uh oh…" Tanya muttered as the two creatures separated and went different ways.

"I got it!" Mallory announced, hitting one of the creature's square on, splitting it into two.

"No, I got it." Nosedive announced, firing at the other creature and splitting it into two.

One of the creatures took off in Duke's direction and he sliced it into two.

"Stop!" Wildwing ordered, "every time we hit that thing, it splits into two!"

"They're heading for the hangar!" Mallory exclaimed as all six creatures took off into the outside.

The ducks quickly ran for the migrator and were soon on the road, tracking the energy creatures.

"Tanya, get a fix on them…" Wildwing ordered.

"I'm trying, I'm trying." She rushed, tapping furiously at the computer she was sitting at.

"What's the matter with this thing, I can't find them!" she was flustered. The screen in front of her suddenly broke as one appeared, his arms crossed as he snickered at her.

"oh, I found one." She muttered. The creature jumped across her towards Wildwing, landing in the steering wheel.

"It's got the wheel!" Wildwing exclaimed as they took a hard left, going up on the three wheels on the right. The migrator couldn't handle the velocity and rolled, landing on its side.

Everyone piled out, rubbing different parts of their bodies that had gotten hit in the roll over.

"Now that's power steering." Grin muttered.

The creatures took to the streets. The ducks watched helplessly as different citizens started attacking the creatures. One with a baseball bat, the other with her purse. Every time the creature got hit, it would multiply.

"They just keep multiplying." Wildwing muttered.

The energy creatures took off, heading all over town.

"The whole town's going to be in a state of… shock!" Nosedive exclaimed helplessly.


	10. Zap Attack: pt 2

_So... holy crap I'm so sorry I disappeared for like almost 4 months. I really have no excuse other than the fact that my depression set in pretty bad. I lost a good friend, and then my dad died about 3 weeks ago so this whole year has just been complete bullshit. Anyways, I actually had this chapter complete 3 months ago... I'm going to try to get back into the flow of writing and hopefully with some life changes coming up, I'll be able to post more regularly. Again, I'm super sorry for making you all wait and I'd just like to thank you all for your patience as I work through this. Also, I'm possibly moving in two weeks so it might take a while for updates after that as that's the life change I'm talking about. Anyways, hope you like this chapter and I'll catch you guys later._

* * *

"I think I'll check into a hotel until this whole thing blows over." Nosedive muttered, seeing the extensive damage the energy creatures were doing.

"Yeah right. You're not leaving us to deal with this shit." Anna muttered towards him.

"Tanya, you're the science whiz. What do we do?" Wildwing asked, turning his attention back to the blond.

"I… don't… have a clue. But I know someone who might. My friend, Dr. Huggerman. He's a specialist in electricity. I'm sure he'll help." Tanya insisted, "he's probably on his island."

"You and Grin take the duckfoil."

"Wait. How are we gonna handle these killer kilowatts, man?"

"We're just going to have to stop them." Wildwing muttered.

"That's… not much of a plan!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"You got a better idea?" Wildwing challenged, going from leader to big brother.

Something exploded on top of the building they were standing next to and they ran out into the middle of the street.

"Well, they say Bermuda's lovely this time of year and what the heck, they got this whole island thing happening." Nosedive muttered.

An energy creature went buzzing past, heading into the subway.

"They're heading into the subway." Wildwing announced, "Duke, Anna, Dive. Stop them!" he ordered.

"Oh yeah, and what are you gonna do?" Nosedive asked.

"Deal with that!" Wildwing exclaimed, pointing at the energy creature that was jumping into a tanker truck.

"Tear it up bro!" Nosedive said, deciding the task in front of him, Duke and Anna would be easier than his brother's.

"it's going into that train!" Duke warned and Dive and Anna followed after him.

"Everybody off the train!" Duke bellowed as he entered the car. Anna and Nosedive followed suit, shoving everyone off and out of the car.

"There, everybody's safe." Duke announced, standing in the car and watching everyone run out of the subway.

"Yeah…" Dive added, "except us!" he exclaimed as the doors closed and the train began to move.

* * *

Mallory and Wildwing hid behind a mailbox as the tanker ran crazy through the streets. Mallory raised her puck launcher, taking aim.

"The fuel in that tank will set off the whole city block!" Wildwing growled in her direction, lowering her barrel.

"So what do we do?" she challenged. The engine of the truck was heard and Wildwing turned back in time to see the truck barreling down upon them..

"Run!" he exclaimed, barreling into Mallory as they both got out of the way.

* * *

Tanya and Grin were having their own fun, dodging water mines as they headed towards Dr. Huggerman's island. The duck foil was going so fast, as to dodge the mines, it went barreling up onto the sandy beach of the island.

* * *

"Look out!" Wildwing barreled into Mallory's side just as the tanker was coming down upon her. She sat on the ground with Wildwing kneeled beside her.

"There's gotta be a way of stopping that thing without setting off the fuel." Mallory muttered, racking her brains.

"Yeah, let's make it an inside job." Wildwing planned as the tanker turned back towards them. Mallory nodded, knowing what he was getting at. As the truck got closer, they both jumped up, landing on top of the truck. They both swung in through the windows and ended up inside.

"I'll cripple the ignition!" Mallory announced.

The energy creature popped out, going inside her launcher, blowing it up.

"Gah!" she exclaimed, grabbing her hand.

The creature snickered as it hopped back into the ignition.

* * *

Duke, Nosedive and Anna hopped through the cars, heading for the engine.

"Hey, we gotta slow this thing down!" Duke ordered, going to the front dash of the train.

He went to press a button, but one of the creatures popped out, taking the button out with it. He provoked them, sticking his thumbs in his ears and wagging his fingers back and forth.

"I think you made him mad." Nosedive muttered.

"Mad? That thing is enjoying this!" Anna exclaimed from behind him.

"The brake!" Duke exclaimed. He pulled it but felt it being pulled back by the creature. Anna saw this and grabbed on with him. Suddenly, the brake broke off and the creature popped out again as all three ducks fell down.

"That guy's starting to be a regal pain." Nosedive muttered.

"At this speed, we're gonna jump the tracks… come on!" Duke ordered, and the two teenagers followed obediently.

He ushered the two teens through the door before he turned around, activating his saber. He cut into the divider of the train, causing the main engine to separate from the rest of the train.

The engine went barreling away as the rest of the train began to slow down.

"There, that did it." Duke praised himself.

"Um, Duke?" Anna said, pointing behind him. He turned to see the engine had switched to reverse, heading back straight towards them.

"No, it didn't!" Nosedive exclaimed as all three ducks hit the ground, hoping to escape too much impact. The engine smashed into the car they were in. Broken glass flew everywhere as the car tipped up onto its side.

* * *

Meanwhile, Wildwing was trying to pull the wheel back in his favor. Mallory was helping him. In the same instance, they both glanced up to see they were heading straight for a wall. Wildwing grabbed Mallory's arm and, in the same motion, pulled her and himself out of the driver's side door. They both tumbled out of harm's way as the truck smashed into the wall.

* * *

Tanya and Grin ran through the brush as a laser fired at them.

"You are trespassing." Came Huggerman's voice. "and I don't want any magazines or insurance so just go away!"

Tanya and Grin ducked down in the same bush and looked out.

"I knew Dr. Huggerman valued his privacy, but this is ridiculous." She muttered, glaring up at the laser on top of Huggerman's house.

"If I can just take out that roof cannon, I think we're home free!" she informed, pulling out her puck launcher. She took aim and fired, knocking the cannon off the roof.

Both ducks ran up to the door and Tanya knocked.

"Dr. Huggerman! Let me in!" she shouted.

"No. Beat it!" came the voice again and the door cracked open, a laser blast came through.

"You know, I think we caught him at a bad time…" Tanya muttered. Grin had a set jaw as he pushed Tanya out of the way.

"That does it. My inner peace has been disturbed enough for one day!" he growled, pulling back a fist and punching the door in.

The door fell, revealing Dr. Huggerman, standing there in shock with his laser.

"Tanya." He greeted, realizing it was his friend.

* * *

"You alright, sweetheart?" Duke muttered, pulling Anna up from the ground. He brushed his thumb against a cut on her cheek. She lightly blushed, turning away from him.

"I'm fine." She promised, turning and grabbing Nosedive's hand to help him up. She gave him a boost so he could reach the door that was now above them. He grabbed the side and began to crawl out. Duke gave Anna a boost. Once the two teenagers were out, they turned to help him out.

"I hope the others are doing better than we are." He muttered.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Wildwing asked from where they sat on the ground. As he said it, he gently grabbed Mallory's arm to get her attention.

"So much for not setting off the fuel." Mallory muttered. She didn't comment on his touch.

"Someone needs to go back to driver's ed!" came Nosedive's sarcastic remark, causing Mallory and Wildwing to stand up from where they were, Wildwing quickly moving his hand away from Mallory.

"This is a tactical disaster." Mallory sighed as the five ducks walked away from the blaze.

"Um, Mal? This is a kid's show…" Anna muttered.

"Yeah, wanna say that in English?" Nosedive muttered from his spot.

"Planned out." She turned, glaring at the teenagers. Duke looked at her hard but continued walking, as they no longer had a drivable vehicle.

They walked down the blocks, making it back and cutting through the mall.

"Planned out?" Nosedive asked.

"Dragaunus." Anna confirmed.

"Gotta be. That creature's got his signature all over it." Duke added.

"Yeah, but why would he sick those things on us?" Wildwing muttered.

At that moment, they passed a TV store with a news broadcast going on.

"In one hour, orbital industries will launch the new space shield satellite," Came a voice through the TV. "which is armed with super lasers to repel any alien invasion."

"Hey, see if there's any cartoons on." Dive muttered, clearly bored by the announcement. A picture popped up on the TV, showing the rocket that would launch the space shield satellite.

"Hey, it's the rocket that Siege and the chameleon tried to sabotage!" Duke commented.

"This… is really bad." Wildwing muttered, grasping the situation they were in. "Those energy creatures could tear it apart. We've got to defend it."

"How? We're getting our tailfeathers kicked!" Mallory argued. Wildwing turned back, beak to beak with her.

"We've gotta find a way to short circuit those things!"

"With water!" Mallory got the idea as soon as Wildwing said _short circuit_.

"Fellow ducks…" Nosedive stepped forward, "I'm gonna arm us to the beaks!"

* * *

The twenty-year-old sighed out, kicking a rock as he walked back towards his apartment, just a few blocks away from the pond coincidentally. He heard the screeching of tires and turned to see a car swerving towards him. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, doing a quick step towards the car and hopping on its hood. He used the momentum to run up and over the car. He rolled as he hit the ground and heard the car smash into a building. He turned back, running over and prying the driver's side door open.

"Are you alright?" he exclaimed. The man behind the wheel rubbed his head, but nodded.

"I could have sworn I was going to hit you. Nice reflexes." The man commented.

The young man only nodded his thanks before turning back around to see the chaos unfolding before him. He saw energy creatures jumping all around the city.

"I thought there was only one." He muttered. He flinched as a traffic light beside him shot out, and an energy creature bounced out, heading for a nearby lamp store. Jason saw the voltage surrounding the creature. He glanced over, seeing the man who'd been driving the car had a water bottle in his cup holder.

"Hey, give me that water!" he ordered. The man did as he was told, tossing Jason the bottle.

Jason pulled out his pocket knife, stabbing the cap and running towards the creature.

"Hey!" he yelled, getting the creature's attention. The creature turned, snickered, and made a "charge" sound effect as he rushed towards Jason. Jason pointed the cap towards the creature and squeezed down on the bottle.

The creature let out a scream of pain as he went scurrying away. Jason smirked, looking around at the destruction that surrounded him.

"Nice thinking." The guy from the car came running up, slapping Jason on the back. Jason smiled in thanks, giving the water bottle back to the man.

"Here, you might need this." He said, handing it back before walking off in the direction of the energy creature. What he was about to do next seemed foolish, but he was about to go buy himself the biggest water gun he could buy.

* * *

"Tanya, why didn't you say it was you." Dr. Huggerman asked as he guided the two ducks to his study.

"Well, you didn't stop firing at me long enough to give me a chance." Tanya muttered before getting down to business. "Dr. Huggerman, the world is in danger."

"No." Dr. Huggerman didn't want any explanation.

"But doctor-" Tanya started.

"It's out of the question." Huggerman said, walking towards a table. "But, while you're here…" he picked up a deck of cards, "how about a friendly game of cards."

* * *

The ducks stood at the counter of Captain comics as Thrash listed off the water guns as he placed them on the counter. He announced the last one, placing it on the counter.

"The super squirter 2000!" he introduced with pride.

"Golden. We'll take the lot." Nosedive said as they all picked up the guns.

"What do you need all these squirt guns for anyways dude?" Thrash asked as they started to walk out.

"We've gotta save the world, Thrash." Nosedive said as they walked out the door.

Thrash raised an eyebrow, looking where they disappeared.

"You guys feeling okay? Or what?" he asked no one in particular.

* * *

Jason walked down the street, trying to think of a place to buy squirt guns around the mall. He saw the ducks up ahead of him and shook his head. Apparently, they had gotten the same idea he had as they were all holding water guns. He thought about running ahead to talk to them. Approach them. Ask them his questions. But now wasn't the time. It would appear they had a crisis on their hands and his questions just didn't seem important right now.

He watched the ducks walk away and entered the comic shop.

"How's it going, dude?" said the teenager behind the counter.

"Going alright… uh… dude." Jason muttered.

"What can I help you find today?" Thrash asked.

"Um, well… I need a couple of water guns." Jason said. The teenager looked bewildered.

"Everyone getting water guns today? Geez." Thrash muttered, reaching underneath the counter. "What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Something that'll hold a lot of water." Jason requested.

"I got just the thing, man."

* * *

"You know Tanya, this is the one thing I've missed since I turned my back on humanity. The challenging strategy. Intellectual stimulation."

"Yeah. Have you got any sevens?" Tanya asked.

'Ah ha! Go fish!" Huggerman said with pride.

"Look, Dr. Huggerman. We really need your help." Tanya tried again.

"No. I spent my life trying to save mankind, and what happened? They turned my inventions into weapons. Misused my wisdom."

Grin gritted his teeth as he stood up.

"Even made fun of my name." Huggerman muttered.

Grin moved towards him, lifting him by his lab coat.

"Now look. If you do not find enlightenment, and help your fellow man, I'm going to rearrange your face." He promised.

"Suddenly I see the light." Huggerman squeaked with fear.

* * *

"Dragaunus tried to stop the launch once." Wildwing muttered.

"yeah, and I bet my water weasel he'll do it again." Nosedive added.

The ducks were leaned up against a building at orbital industries. Night was falling across the land and they were waiting. Waiting for energy creatures or even Dragaunus' stooges at this point.

"I feel like a complete fool." Mallory muttered.

"Well hang on, cause here they come." Wildwing announced as the energy creatures raced across the way.

A battle broke out as the ducks squirted the creatures with water. The creatures screamed as they ran away from the streams.

The rocket launched and the ducks cheered.

"It's launching!" Anna announced.

"We did it!" Wildwing added as the rocket safely left Earth's atmosphere.

The ducks took off in the direction the energy creatures were running, spraying them continuously.

"Come on, we've got them on the run!" Wildwing announced.

"But we're running low on… ammo." Mallory muttered, not exactly sure at first how to refer to the water.

"Relax." Dive muttered, walking over to a faucet. "We've got plenty of H2…" he paused as he realized there was no water hooked up to the faucet. "uh oh." He muttered.

He looked back up, realizing the creatures had jumped into all sorts of work vehicles that had been left around the construction sight.

"Awe man, they've got us in a powerplay!" Nosedive announced as all four vehicles circled the ducks.


	11. Zap Attack: pt 3

_So the next few weeks might be a little spotty on updates since I am trying to move to a completely different state but I'll give it my best shot and try to get back into the swing of things here. Might try to get back on every Friday. Once I get settled in, I'll actually look and see how my schedule is and depending on how much time I have to myself, I might try to do a full episode every friday (that's 3 chapters). But, like I said, that'll depend on how much free time I have in my new home. Anyways, here's the third chapter of Zap Attack and... I hope y'all enjoy!_

"Those little zap heads have us by the pinfeathers!" Nosedive announced.

"Duke!" Anna yelped, grabbing him by the waist and knocking him out of the way of a wrecking ball.

She hit the ground a little way away and glanced back up to see the wrecking ball had lifted back up.

"Anna!" Duke yelled, seeing it was aiming right for her.

A shadow fell across her and suddenly she felt herself being lifted off the ground. The wrecking ball hit nothing but dirt as she was set down next to Duke. She looked back to see who had saved her and was surprised to see a human. He had long brown hair tied back into a ponytail, a black trench coat on and piercing blue/green eyes. Duke's eyes widened in shock at the human's eyes and knew he'd seen them somewhere before.

"Who are you?" Anna asked, but before she could get an answer, they heard the wrecking ball move back up to its normal spot as the vehicle approached them again. The stranger reached out a hand to Duke, helping him up, as he addressed Anna.

"Perhaps formalities are best saved for later." He tried as all three took off, running from the wrecking ball.

A backhoe went to dump dirt on top of Mallory and Wildwing, but they ran out and away before they could get buried alive.

A bulldozer took off after Nosedive. He turned to fire an explosive puck at said vehicle, but an energy creature jumped into his puck launcher, causing it to explode.

"Awe man, you guys are no fun." He muttered, taking off running yet again.

"Hang on guys!" the ducks and one human all turned to see Tanya, Grin and another human, presumably Dr. Huggerman, running up.

"What's that?" Wildwing asked, seeing the device Huggerman was carrying.

"My energy magnet." He announced, setting it down. "It'll attract those little creatures like candy." He said, flipping a switch on and stepping back.

The creatures, all at once, seemed to exit their vehicles, rushing towards the device. The creatures balled up into a yellow and purple ball of energy.

"Alright, I love this guy man! Where've you been hiding him?" nosedive asked.

"Boy, is that ever a long story…" Tanya muttered. "Where'd you find him?" she redirected the question, pointing towards Jason.

"That… is a slightly shorter story." Anna muttered.

"Um, guys?" Mallory directed everyone's attention to the ball of energy that was now evolving into one giant energy creature.

"Where'd you dig up this loon anyways!" Nosedive's opinion did a 180 almost instantly.

The giant creature took off, stomping around the plant, taking down buildings as it went.

"Terrific! Now we've got a turbocharged king Kong on our hands!" Nosedive muttered as Dr. Huggerman shut down his energy magnet.

Wildwing lead the team back to the duck cycles, figuring going after a giant creature would be much easier on the cycles than it would be on foot.

An alarm sounded from the cycles, shocking everyone. Especially the two humans who didn't fully understand how the ducks' gear worked.

"It's a drake one alert!" Wildwing announced.

"Whoa. That thing still works after the pounding it took?" Duke said with surprise in his voice. Tanya sighed out mentally. Duke's comment had all at once reminded her the workload that would welcome her once this mess was over.

"Listen." Wildwing shushed, tapping on a button.

"Zapcom to Washington. Someone's taken control of the space shield. It's not responding!" came the worried intercepted message.

"Yeah, and I'll bet that someone is Dragaunus!" Duke muttered.

"Dra-what?" asked Jason, raising an eyebrow.

"Dragaunus. A power bent lizard out to destroy the world." Anna explained. Jason only nodded, not fully understanding everything that was going on today.

"That's why his goons were at the launchpad! They must have planted a control device on the satellite."

"And we made sure it launched." Wildwing muttered, referring to the out of control space shield, and grabbing his head in frustration.

Anna's eyes softened and Jason watched as she walked over to Wildwing. She put a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention.

"Wildwing, there's no way you could have known." She tried, knowing he was still getting this leader thing down.

"Giant energy monsters, killer satellites, and mysterious strangers." Tanya glanced over at Jason, directing that last one at him, "Why is this all happening at once?" Tanya muttered, glancing over at Nosedive.

"Smells like sweeps week." Nosedive muttered.

"Dr. Huggerman." Wildwing got the doctor's attention. "Electricity can be transformed into radio frequencies. Can't it?" he asked.

"Of course." Huggerman confirmed. "That's the whole principle of broadcasting."

"Than I've got an idea that just might solve both our problems at once. Come on. And bring that energy magnet."

* * *

Grin busted down the door leading to the control room, shocking those inside. Tanya, Nosedive and Jason followed. Jason went to draw his gun, maybe give the workers a reason to leave, but they appeared to do that on their own, so he left it at his side, hidden within his trench coat.

Tanya sat down and went to work.

Mallory, Duke, Anna, and Wildwing had gone with Dr. Huggerman, who went to work opening a panel to a satellite dish.

"This is the main power input for the broadcasting antenna." He explained, installing his magnet into place, "the magnet will draw that monster straight to the antenna dish, which will beam it to the satellite." He finished his explanation, switching the magnet on.

In the meantime, Tanya was typing furiously. "Now, to tune that dish to the frequency of the satellite." She said it out loud so the others knew what she was doing.

Jason was surprised by all that was happening. For one, the ducks were smart. Smarter than he had first anticipated. Secondly, he didn't expect to ever get a chance to talk to them and ask them his questions, and now he was standing right next to the one that looked like the duck that had taken his baby sister. He eyeballed Nosedive, but Nosedive was oblivious to the look he was receiving.

The monster stomped towards the satellite, and the ducks at the base, along with Dr. Huggerman, moved away.

As the creature got close to the base, he began to get sucked into the satellite by the magnet that had been placed within.

The ducks watched as the energy creature shot off into space. Once it entered space, it shot through the satellite, destroying it.

"Target destroyed!" Tanya confirmed as she ran up to the rest of the ducks with Grin, Nosedive and Jason following behind her. Once the group had joined back together, they all seemed to simultaneously look at Dr. Huggerman.

"I was wrong." Huggerman started, "thank you for showing me the error of my ways." He said. The ducks all glanced between each other, a sense of pride between them. Jason hung back, not sure if he should even still be here. The monster was defeated, the battle won. Shouldn't he go home? He knew what held him there. Questions. So many questions.

"Well, gotta go! See ya!" Huggerman's voice changed tones as he started to walk away. It wasn't but a second later, Wildwing realized the doctor meant to return to his solitary island.

"But Dr. Huggerman…" he stepped out of the group, "if we've restored your faith in humanity… why are you turning away?"

"What faith in humanity?" Huggerman shrugged, "You've restored my faith in ducks! See ya!" he chuckled, before continuing to walk off.

"There goes one seriously whacky earthling." Nosedive muttered.

"Speaking of earthlings…" Anna trailed off, turning to eye Jason. Jason's eyes widened for a moment before he returned to a stone expression.

"Who are you? Where'd you come from?" she asked, walking up to him. He cleared his throat. Although she was a duck, she was shorter than him and he couldn't really find her intimidating.

"I just thought you guys could use some help. That's all." He tried. Why was he avoiding asking his questions? He glanced at the one who appeared to be the leader. The one with the mask… the mask with red eyes. He didn't like it. It made the duck look evil and although he was certain he could take the female that was interrogating him if need be, he wasn't so sure he'd stand in a fight against him.

"But why did you help?" the leader asked, stepping forward to stand next to Anna. Jason felt himself take a step back. "Who are you?"

Jason felt himself gulp. He hated interrogations.

"I don't know why I helped. I guess I originally came to ask questions." He tried, shrugging and looking away, not really wanting the meet the gaze of the mask.

"Questions?" Duke asked, taking Anna's other side. This duck was also intimidating, with an eyepatch and a chip in his beak.

Jason felt himself shrinking back. He glanced back at the female. She was wearing a chain with a couple of dog tags around it. They read:

Thunderbeak,

Canard, H.

42-35-789

G+

He doubted her name was Canard. Behind the tags, he could see another set of tags. He couldn't see what they said. Behind those, a heart on a chain. He could make out an A sticking out behind the tags, but that was all that showed of whatever the word was on the heart.

He narrowed his eyes. Why did the design of the heart look so familiar? He couldn't quite place where he'd seen it before.

"What are you staring at?" Anna asked defensively, grabbing the tags that hung around her neck and hiding them, along with the necklace, around her neck.

He blinked, looking around at all the ducks and realizing they were all staring at him. He shook his head.

"I… I need to go." He muttered, before suddenly running off. All the ducks looked at each other in shock.

"And… there goes another whacky earthling." Nosedive muttered.

"What the hell do you think that was about?" Anna muttered, glancing back at the others.

"He was lookin' for somethin'." Duke muttered knowingly.

"He said he had questions…" Anna trailed off, meeting Duke's gaze.

"It's something else. It's not just questions… he's looking for answers. Answers to something, almost like an unsolved murder, or kidnapping maybe. One of those things nobody could have the answers to." Duke said with a matter of fact attitude.

"And? Why the hell would we have the answers to something like that?" Dive muttered.

"Well, all sorts of things could be going through his head… I mean, he could think since we're _other worldly,_ maybe we'd know." Tanya added to Duke's theory.

"What, like gods?" Nosedive asked skeptically.

"Or, he could think we have something to do with whatever happened." Duke added coldly from his spot, his arms crossed.

Anna raised an eyebrow at him.

"Jesus, guys! He was probably just a nervous fan who was too afraid and star struck to ask for an autograph." She muttered.

"I'm with Anna on this one." Mallory finally had an input to give, stepping forward and putting an arm around Anna's shoulders. "You guys are being ridiculous."

* * *

The ducks walked into the rec room, nearly forgetting the mess the little electric abomination had left.

"You know, we should really think about hiring a cleaning lady." Tanya muttered.

"Well at least we're rid of all those energy creatures." Wildwing said, crossing his arms.

Suddenly, out of the destroyed console of drake 1 hopped one of the little electric monsters.

"Ah shit." Anna muttered. "Shoulda knocked on wood Wing!"

"Not again…" Mallory drew out.

"This show is going to become a rerun of itself." Nosedive added.

"not necessarily…" Duke trailed off, a sly look on his face.

"We still have Dragaunus' communicator. Why not make it his problem…" he said, setting the communicator down next to the electric guy. The monster seemed to sniff at the communicator a second before rubbing its hands together. With excitement, the creature jumped through the communicator.

"Alright, let's get to work cleaning up this mess." Wildwing stated.

"Awe, come on man. Can't it wait 'til Spring. You know, Spring cleaning?" Nosedive asked, shrugging.

"Nosedive, this isn't your room. You can't just push it off, and still not clean it once spring gets here." Wildwing shot at his brother.

"Just for that little crack, I say Nosedive gets a head start on clean up while the rest of us get dinner." Tanya said.

"Now there's an idea, Tanya. I could really go for a nice hot cup of chili." Duke said.

"ooh, maybe even a grilled cheese sandwich." Anna added as they began to walk away, leaving Nosedive standing there.

"Oh, come on guys! I'm hungry too!" he called as he watched the ducks disappear to the mess hall.

"Awe man… was it something I said?"


	12. Club Shenanigans Part 1

_I am so sorry I disappeared on you guys! Hopefully that doesn't happen again... or at least not for as long. I'll try to be more regular as I find time to update and write. Anyways, Hope you enjoy this chapter! It's more of a between episodes chapter, but nonetheless, I hope you like it! :D Enjoy! And don't forget to review!_

* * *

Club music pounded around the ducks. Technically, Anna and Nosedive weren't supposed to be in there, but since they were a part of the city's hockey team, the owner found an exception. The bartenders all knew them anyways and knew they weren't 21. On top of that, they were required to wear wrist bands until they did come of age. Anna, personally, was hoping to get her brother back and be back on Puckworld before she turned 21. If she was going to celebrate her 21st with anyone, it was going to be her big brother, along with the rest of the ducks as well, of course.

The music pounded around as she sat at the bar, sipping on her 7-up. She looked out in the group and saw Mallory and Tanya tearing up the dancefloor. She had assumed Mallory could dance, but who knew Tanya could. She felt a smile come to her face. She hadn't been with these ducks for very long, but ever since they'd been stranded, she realized she had started to think of them as family. Her family.

Mallory caught her eye and waved an imaginary lasso above her head. She pretended to catch Anna in the lasso and began pulling. Anna shook her head, before standing up off the stool and allowing herself to be pulled by the lasso. Who knew the red head could have fun? Then again, who knew how many alcoholic beverages the red head had sucked down. It was the weekend, so who cared?

Anna let the music capture her as she moved her hips to the beat that echoed through the club.

Duke was sitting at the bar with Wildwing. Grin was nowhere in sight. He claimed these places messed with his aurora. Nosedive was dancing with three other women.

"you think they know how old the kid is?" Duke wondered, motioning back to Dive.

"They haven't got a clue." Wildwing muttered, picking up his glass and downing the rest of his rum and coke.

Duke smirked, throwing back a shot of whiskey. He shook his head, glancing back out at the dance floor. Not too far from Nosedive, he caught sight of the three girls of their team. He couldn't help but watch Anna move to the beat flawlessly.

"Just go dance with her." Wildwing muttered before pushing his glass forward.

"Me? Dance? You've gotta be kidding. I go out there and dance, I'll never live it down." Duke muttered, shoving his own glass forward.

Wildwing smirked at the thief. The bartender came walking by and pointed at Wildwing's glass. Wildwing nodded, and the tender took the glass.

Duke raised an eyebrow at the leader. They had gone out once before, earlier when Anna was still depressed, locked in her room. Wildwing had gotten drunk that night and Duke had ended up draping the leader over his shoulders and shoving him into a cab.

That time, Duke had gotten the whole spiel from Wildwing. He had blamed himself for Anna's depression and Canard's disappearance. That night, he had come to discover Wildwing had been dealing with some depression himself. He didn't want to be a leader, and he didn't like having this burden thrust upon him with no warning by his best friend. Anna had been the second in command, not him. Why wasn't she the fearless leader?

The next morning, when Duke beat around the bush about the previous night, he discovered Wildwing didn't remember that talk and had just woken up with a severe headache. So, the former thief had decided to keep Wildwing's drunken ravings to himself.

Now, sitting here watching his friend get drunk he couldn't help but wonder if they would have a repeat of that night. He was also worried. If they did repeat the spiel from that night, would the girls and Nosedive hear it, and what would they think? Drunken ravings tend to have some truth to them, and he had no clue how the others would take the ravings. Especially Anna. She seemed to be getting over her brother's loss so well now. What would a drunken Wildwing do to change that?

"Duke, I see you eyeing that brunette. Now get out there." Wildwing muttered as the bartender came back with a full glass of rum and coke. The bartender glanced at Duke, lifting his eyebrows. He was asking silently if Duke wanted anything.

Duke nodded, pushing it forward. The bartender nodded, getting the message.

He thought back to what Wildwing had just said and glanced back out at the dance floor. Right behind Anna, a beautiful brunette in a skintight dress was swaying back and forth to the music. Duke glanced back at Wing as the bartender walked back with the shot. Wildwing thought he was eyeballing the brunette. The HUMAN brunette. He mentally shrugged. Probably better this way. Wildwing was just as much of a big brother to Anna as Canard was. Imagine how Wildwing would react if he knew he'd been staring at his technical baby sister.

Duke lifted the glass and Wildwing lifted his own glass.

"Alright, no fear." Duke muttered, throwing back the shot, "but only if you come out too."

"Deal." Wildwing muttered, standing up. He swayed a little and Duke did the same. Perhaps the alcohol had had more effect than they first thought.

They both stumbled out to the dancefloor. Anna smiled at the newcomers. Wildwing smiled back, beginning to move to the beat. She was slightly confused when Duke shoved past her. She turned to see he had gone over and had begun brushing up against the brunette behind her. She mentally shrugged, turning back around to Mallory and Tanya. Wildwing joined in their circle and Anna had to laugh. She'd never seen him this drunk before. Once before, she'd seen him buzzed, but that was at the Christmas party back on Puckworld and even then, she had only seen glimpses here and there. They hadn't really been in the same room for very long during that party.

She tried to stop thinking about that party. It was the party she and Duke had really begun to develop their friendship. She thought maybe they'd been developing more, but she obviously was wrong since he'd shoved past her to get to another girl. She glanced back to see his hands were on this stranger's waist.

It wasn't ten minutes later when Duke shoved past with this girl under his arm.

"Here Anna. I and Trinity here are going to get a cab." He slurred, tossing his keys to her.

"You gonna be home sometime tonight?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He gave a smirk and she shook her head at him.

"Alright, have fun." She muttered, shoving the keys into her pocket.

Shortly after arriving on earth, the ducks realized they couldn't just drive everywhere in the migrator. For one, it was huge and trying to find parking anywhere was a nightmare. So, the ducks had decided to use some profits from their contract to buy a couple of vehicles. The first was a suburban. It fit all seven of the ducks, although maybe not comfortably. They purchased another vehicle, a Toyota 4runner, as well. Both vehicles were outside the club right now, basically for comfortable seating. All the ducks had passed a driver's ed class when they arrived on earth (Wildwing had insisted they get as much "citizenship" stuff done asap so they didn't have to worry about it the longer they stayed), so Anna and Nosedive were the designated drivers for the night. At first, it was Duke and either Anna or Nosedive, but since Duke had decided to not only have one too many, but also abandon them, Anna was now the driver of the suburban while Nosedive had the keys to the 4runner.

Anna found herself glaring after the thief as he exited the club, the brunette hanging all over him.

She shook her head, attempting to forget what she had just seen. Mallory saw Anna's face and gave her a look. Anna shook her head, trying to show it was nothing. Mallory shrugged, either too buzzed to care or realizing she wouldn't be able to hear Anna's explanation anyways over the music.

Mallory found herself moving closer to Wildwing as the night progressed and Anna saw this. She smiled to herself. At least her friend was having fun. She glanced over at Tanya. Her eyes were closed as the music took the blond away. You really wouldn't think Tanya was this much of a party girl, but here she was, so and so many drinks in, dancing the night away without a care in the world.

Anna suddenly felt a hand on her waist. She jerked, freaked out by the motion.

"Hey baby." She was shocked to see a green eyed human with dark black hair. He was handsome, she had to admit, but how old was he? Did he know how old she was? Was he aware she was a duck? Of course, that hadn't really stopped the brunette with Duke.

"Hey." She said, trying to get back to dancing and forgetting about the unwanted touch this man had just performed. He fell into step with her, bringing his hands forward, trying to put them on her waist. She shrank back, trying to squeeze herself back into her safe group. Her friend group.

He moved closer, hands going back to her waist. She put her hands on his, pushing them down.

"Stop." She ordered, still moving, though not as much.

"Come on." He tried, pulling her closer. "Don't you wanna dance?" he tried, moving his hands up her waist.

"I said stop." She said more firmly, stopping her movement completely and grabbing his hands again, shoving them down.

"Come on!" he tried again, wrapping his arms fully around her and pulling her against his body.

"No, get off me!" she cried out, squirming to get away from him.

"Hey!" The man was suddenly off her as, to her surprise, Nosedive put himself in between her and the man.

"Watch it, kid!" the man sneered, "that's my date."

"I believe the lady said no. Shove off! Go ruin someone else's night." Nosedive spat, crossing his arms. The man growled, and it looked like a fight might ensue, but he soon realized the three other ducks Anna had been dancing with had stopped and were now staring at him, their arms crossed as well. The man looked like he gulped, before clearing his throat.

"She's probably a slut anyways." He muttered, turning to walk away.

"Excuse me?" Nosedive asked, grabbing the guy's shoulder and flipping him back around.

"Nosedive, let it go." Anna pleaded, coming up and grabbing his shoulder.

"He owes you an apology." Nosedive tried.

"Trust me, Dive. I don't want anything from him." She insisted. Nosedive squeezed his eyes shut before his grip loosened on the man's shoulder. He gritted his teeth.

"Fine. Go on, get out of here. You're not worth our time." He growled, shoving the man back in the direction he'd tried to go before. The man stumbled a bit before disappearing into the crowd.

"Thanks." Anna muttered. She suddenly felt Nosedive's arms go around her.

"You alright, Annie?" he asked.

"yeah. That guy was just a douche. That's all." She tried, though she welcomed his embrace. She'd rather have this familiar duck hugging her rather than some strange human.

"Come on, let's get back to dancing." He said, grabbing her hand and twirling her back into the group. A beat dropped at that moment and the five ducks began dancing in their circle. Where Nosedive's lady friends had gone, one could only guess.

The night dragged on, the ducks dancing here and there. A couple of times, Nosedive or Mallory would get grabbed for a dance, but they always worked their way back to the group. Anna felt herself getting tired and stopped.

"You alright?" Nosedive called over the music. Anna nodded.

"Just need water!" she called back, heading towards the bar. She ordered a cup of water and turned back around, watching her friends having the time of their life.

"Hey." She turned to see a human standing there, staring at her. He had brown eyes, and dark brown hair.

"Hi." She responded, turning back around to grab her water. The guy turned around, grabbing the guy next to him and shoving him at her. "Have… ya met Oli?" he asked before running off. She raised an eyebrow and looked the new man up and down. He was kind of cute with blue eyes and blond hair.

"Uh, hi. Sorry about that. Oliver." He said, extending his hand.

"Anna." She said, reaching out her own hand. "Who was that?" she asked, glancing back at the man who had disappeared somewhere.

"Oh, that's my friend, Elliot."

"He's… a little strange." She said, laughing. Oliver laughed with her.

"You have no idea." He agreed. "So, not much of a drinker?" he asked, pointing towards her cup of water.

"Oh, no. I uh…" she flashed her wristband at him, "I'm not allowed yet." She explained.

"Oh. Um, how old are you?" he asked, and Anna shrunk back. She'd probably lose his interest as soon as he found out her age.

"… almost seventeen." She tried, and he seemed to look in thought. She bit her lip as he seemed to make his decision.

"You know what? You seem pretty mature for your age." He said, smiling as he draped an arm around her shoulders. She smiled, leaning into him. His touch didn't seem as hostile or forceful as that last guy's. Maybe she'd end up liking this guy.

"How old are you?" she asked as he led her back to the dancefloor.

"Exactly 21… Actually, a day over 21." He yelled over the music.

"Your birthday was yesterday?" she asked.

"Yup! October 16th!" he called back. "What about you? Birthday?" he asked.

"November 5th!" she called back.

"So your birthday is getting closer!" he called, smiling. She smiled back.

"Yes it is!" she said, moving to the music. Oliver joined her.

"I'd love to take you out for it!" he tried over the music. Anna smiled.

"I think I'd like that." She agreed, and Oliver grinned at her as they moved closer to the group of ducks. All the ducks shot her an interested glance, but let it go considering the music was too loud to have an actual conversation.

The night carried on, and Oliver seemed to have a blast, dancing with the ducks.

At some point, Anna made her way back over to the bar and Oliver followed her. She pulled out a cocktail napkin and asked the bartender for a pen.

"Here." She said, shoving the napkin towards him after she had scribbled something down. "That's the number to the pond." She explained and he smiled up at her. She glanced behind him to the see the others coming over.

"What's up?" she asked, seeing them all kind of looking at her.

"We were wondering if you were ready to go." Mallory tried.

"Club's closing soon." Nosedive added. "I was gonna leave now to beat traffic. Wanted to know if you were going to leave too, or if the guys that want to leave now should just come with me." Nosedive asked. She cocked her head at him. Was he acting funny?

"Oh um…" she glanced back at Oliver who smiled at her.

"Go ahead. We'll see each other again." He said, pulling her into a hug. She returned it, feeling light on her feet. He released her and shot her another smile.

"Oh… okay." She turned her attention back to the ducks. "Alright guys, let's head out." She said, pulling the keys from her pocket. She gave Oliver one last lingering look as the others shoved past. He returned her look before, reluctantly, she followed her team out the doors.

Wildwing had gone with Nosedive. Mallory and Tanya were with Anna. Anna looked blissful and Mallory couldn't hide her grin.

"What?" Anna asked from the driver's seat.

"Who was that?" Mallory asked innocently.

"A guy, Mal. Geez, I thought you had 20/20 vision." Anna muttered, rolling her eyes.

"You know what I mean…" Mallory trailed off. Anna looked at the red head and when she met Mallory's gaze, she couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, he just… he seems really nice. He wants to take me out for my birthday. It's just… we'll take things slow and see what happens." She muttered.

"He was kind of cute… for a human." Mallory added.

"Yeah. And since we don't know if or when we're going home… might as well, you know, try my luck." Anna put in.

She glanced in her rearview mirror. That blond had been awfully quiet. When she didn't see Tanya's hair sticking up, she glanced back for a second and saw Tanya laying down on the seats. Anna smiled, looking back at the road. Mallory looked in the backseat as well and laughed.

"Looks like our team tech got tuckered out." Mallory said with a smile.

"Say that five times fast…"


	13. Phil in the Blank: pt 1

_Author's note:This is starting Phil in the Blank and honestly, I'm still on the bench about Powerplay but it will most likely happen. Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

Duke rolled over, grabbing his head and moaning. He glanced next to him, seeing a woman peacefully laying there. Where the hell was he? He glanced around the room and scratched his head. It looked like an apartment, but he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. He remembered Wildwing telling him to go dance with a brunette… he glanced down and realized this was the brunette Wing had told him to dance with… and then shortly after he got on the dancefloor, he couldn't remember anything. He scooted out of bed, going towards the bathroom door.

Once he had showered, he felt a lot better. He wiped his face off and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Duke L'Orange, what in god's name do you think you're doing?" he asked himself, sighing. He shuddered, walking out with the towel around his waist. The brunette was still passed out. Silently, Duke maneuvered around the bed, picking up his articles of clothing that had been strewn about here and there. He slipped on his jeans from last night and buttoned up his shirt. He was done dressing himself in five minutes, and then quickly and quietly he was gone from the room without a trace.

* * *

Anna was laying on her stomach when she heard her alarm go off. She reached up a hand, silencing the annoying thing before rolling over onto her back. She smiled to herself. She had met a nice guy last night. Granted, the night had started with some creep grabbing onto her, but all in all, she hadn't done too bad. She then found her mind wandering back to Duke. He had found a hot chick himself and she silently applauded him. After all, they were friends and if he wasn't interested, she just had to accept it. And what better way to do that then to go out with an exceptional guy.

She sighed out, a new light of happiness overcoming her as she jumped out of bed.

As Anna leaned over the stove in the galley, making pancakes, she hummed a little tune to herself.

"Well you're awfully cheery." She smirked as she turned to meet the owner of the Brooklyn accent.

"You smell like dirty hotel hooker sex." She shot back at him with a raised eyebrow before turning back to the cakes.

"I showered, thank you very much." He said with pride, walking further in and reaching behind her to get to the coffee cups. She felt him brush up against her and she felt her breath catch in her throat. She mentally shook her head.

 _He was with another woman last night_! She told herself, _and you met someone new last night too. Knock it off! He doesn't think of you that way!_

He moved away from her once he had his cup and headed over to the corner the coffee maker sat. She had already brewed some and he silently thanked her as he poured himself a cup.

He opened the cupboards above and a puzzled look crossed his face.

"Nosedive." Anna said simply, pointing towards the table. The jar of sugar was sitting out and the ex-thief nodded, realizing the younger duck must have forgot to put the sugar back the last time it'd been used.

"Breakfast will be ready soon." Anna announced, turning back around to the stove.

"Oh, you know I don't eat breakfast sweetheart." He tried, sitting down at the table and sipping his cup of coffee.

"Oh, I know. But you should. And one day, I'll get you to." She remarked, flipping some pancakes onto a plate.

"Ooh, something smells delicious!" she turned around, the plate in her hand, as she came face to face with Nosedive. "You know, Anna, that plate looks awfully heavy…" he said, reaching out for it, "let me just, you know, help you with that." He muttered, taking the plate from her and reaching into the cupboard.

Duke made a gagging noise as he watched the teenager dose his pancakes with maple syrup.

"Hey kid. You actually want some pancakes with your syrup?" Duke asked as the teenager took a seat next to him. Nosedive shot him a glare but went to shoving the cakes into his mouth.

"You actually want some pancakes with your gross coffee?" Nosedive shot back through a mouthful.

"Kid… chew your food…" Duke muttered, taking a sip of coffee. Nosedive seemed to let it go for now, probably because he was too hungry and wanted to save his energy for food.

Grin was the next duck to join them followed by the girls and then, finally, their leader with a massive headache. Finally, around 11, Wildwing decided they should have at least a small practice.

So, the ducks headed above ground, heading to the rink. Phil was already up there, sitting in the stands and making plans for public appearances on his cell phone.

"You'd think he'd do that in his office." Duke muttered, throwing his helmet on and skating out onto the ice.

About an hour passed, and Anna glanced up at the stands, shaking her head. How many phone calls could he possibly be making. Honestly, she was kind of scared… He had been on the phone for an hour, and within that hour, he probably scheduled well around 10 public appearances, depending on how long each phone call had lasted. She shook her head, turning back to watch her team on the ice.

"Okay, that looked good. Let's run wounded duck." Anna ordered. Wildwing nodded from his post.

"alright guys. From the top. Let's go." He ordered from his spot. Anna glanced back up at the stands but Phil was gone.

"Huh, weird." She muttered, glancing back at the ice.

* * *

Phil sat down in his car, beginning to tap a number into his phone as he hummed a tune to himself. As he put the phone to his ear, smoke appeared in his car. He gasped as heard someone say "boo!" in his ear. He dropped the phone.

"Gah! You nearly scared me…" he realized who he was talking to and muttered, "half to death."

"Only half?" the wraith had appeared in Phil's backseat. "Pity."

"Hey, you're one of those saurian guys!" he said with realization, scooting back away from the sinister looking creature. "Hey, you need a manager?" he suddenly asked, always looking to make a quick buck.

The wraith ignored him, "I summon the powers of the ancient saurian's to control your mind." He said, waving his hand in the air.

"Ha! Nobody controls this boy's-"

The wraith placed his hands on either side of Phil's head and his eyes began to glow red while the whites of his eyes turned yellow.

"Yes master." He asked, his voice turning monotonous.

"Now…" the wraith started, getting down to business. "whenever you hear the phrase 'roast duck' you will do exactly as you're told. Otherwise, you will behave normally and remember nothing." He ordered.

"Remember nothing." Phil repeated, staring at the wraith.

"Now, with this bugging device I will hear everything." He muttered, sticking the bug into Phil's jacket. He then grabbed out Phil's planner book, looking it over and revising the schedule. He then placed the book back in Phil's jacket.

"Now listen, you ignorant baboon." The wraith started, "the mighty ducks must follow my schedule precisely. It's a matter of life and death." He chuckled menacingly before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

"Alright, looking good." Anna praised once they finished the run through of the last play.

They all skated over to her. Anna rested her clipboard at her side and met Wildwing's gaze.

"Alright, Wing. To end practice, let's run that play you wanted to try." She said. Wildwing met Tanya's gaze as they skated back out to the ice.

"Alright, Grin! Get into position to run the air hockey play." He ordered, and Grin suddenly knew where he was supposed to be, as did Nosedive. Wildwing took his position in the goalie net.

Phil walked back into the stands, looking completely out of it. The ducks were too preoccupied with the current play to take notice of his presence.

"Tanya. You're sure this is going to work?" he asked.

"If he hits it at exactly the right angle, there's a really good chance it might possibly work." She said, unsurely.

"Coming at ya Grinster!" Nosedive yelled, starting the play.

"The puck and I, are one." Grin muttered, slapping the puck with all his might. It bounced off the side of the net, hit the stands, bounced off the ceiling and landed where they remembered Phil had been sitting.

"shit." Wildwing muttered as they all took off skating for the exit.

"Oh, maybe I should run those calculations one more time." Tanya muttered, following the rest of the ducks to the stands. They all came up on Phil, laying down on the seats in the stands.

"Phil! Phil are you alright?" Wildwing asked, running up.

Phil sat up, looking irritated. "Creamed by my own team? I'll sue myself for damages!" he growled.

"He's okay." Mallory muttered, rolling her eyes.

Phil searched around, feeling his head. Nothing. Not even a bump… he thought, trying to figure out how to make the ducks feel guilty.

"Oh, the pain! The pain!" he wailed, holding his head. "You guys owe me!" he added in.

"You're absolutely right." Wildwing muttered and Anna shot him a worried look. This could only end one way… "What can we do to make it up to you?" Wing asked.

"Well…" Phil trailed off, a sly grin coming to his smug face. "There is the matter of those public appearances…."

* * *

Snow came down in sheets as the ducks stood around waiting for the TV man to make his announcement. The announcer let out a psychotic scream that visibly startled Anna and Tanya.

"Hey rad dad's, and rare devil-dette's. It's time for Reckless Behavior! The show with more brawn than brain!"

Phil walked over to the ducks.

"Alright, you guys ready?" he asked.

"ready? I'll say…" Anna muttered. Tanya seemed to read her thoughts and spoke up against Phil.

"So basically… you want us to go mountain climbing, snowboarding, and hang gliding in like, what? A raging storm?" she asked.

"Only a complete fool would want to do something like that." Mallory muttered from her spot. Anna had her hang glider sitting at her feet, not wanting to fight with it until this all got started. Nosedive, on the other hand, was holding his up and getting blown back by the wind.

"Woohoo! This is gnarly!" he said, obviously enjoying himself and ever ready to carry out this stunt.

"See what I mean?" Mallory nodded.

"Guys, knock it off. We're up here for a reason… we owe it to Phil." Wildwing tried to reason with the reluctant team members.

Phil walked back over to the director of the show.

"It looks like the weather is getting worse. I think we should call it off." he muttered.

"You know, I hate to say it but I think you're right." Phil agreed.

Just then, his phone rang. Before he could even say hello, he heard the phrase "Roast Duck". Suddenly, his eyes glowed and he was at the wraith's command.

"Whatever happens, the ducks must go through with this stunt."

"Yes master." Phil droned before hanging up the phone. His eyes stopped glowing as he turned back to the director.

"Hey boobula. The ducks can handle a little snow. Where they come from it snows all the time." He convinced. That was enough for the director.

"Alrighty then. And… action!" he said, speaking the last part into his blowhorn.

The announcer came back on the screen.

"Alright, let's watch today's guests get into some reckless behavior! Introducing those hockey maniacs from another dimension: the mighty ducks! It's a race to the bottom!" he gestured to the ducks as they turned around and took off running, "last one down's a rotten duck. Ha! I just made that up!"

Tanya and Wildwing jumped on their snowboards while Duke, Grin and Mallory hooked onto the side of the mountain and began to climb down. Nosedive had taken off flying while Anna hugged herself, holding the glider.

She took a deep breath, stepping off the edge. The wind caught her and nearly blew her back the other way, but she steadied the glider, catching up to where Nosedive was. He stopped the glider and she somehow was able to stop hers as well.

"What is it?" she asked, seeing the worry on his face.

"Ducks! There's a whole bunch of mountain heading this way!" he pointed. Tanya and Wildwing hit the first ledge right as Mallory, Duke and Grin did.

"It's a… an… avalanche!" Tanya informed.

"Right, what she said!" Dive called down, having managed to hover over the ducks. Anna's glider kept trying to pull her away, but she kept it somewhat balanced next to Dive.

"Hey Wildwing, next time we go on TV, let's make it one of the home shopping channels!"


	14. Phil in the Blank: pt 2

_**Important Author's note:** First of all, I'm posting this now because I have a crap ton of homework due on friday and there's just no way I'm risking having all that due at the same time I would normally post a chapter. Secondly, I've been thinking. At the rate I've been going, this is going to take forever and let's be serious, some of the episodes are just filler. So... I've compiled a list of the episodes I'm for sure going to do... _

_Dungeons and Ducks (and Return of Asteroth respectively)_

 _Take me to your leader_

 _The Human Factor_

 _Beak to the Future_

 _Beaks vs B.R.A.W.N_

 _Mad Quacks Beyond Hockeydome_

 _To Catch a Duck_

 _The Final Face-Off_

 _This would leave the following episodes unwritten... (although I might reflect on events from these episodes...)_

 _Power Play_

 _Microducks_

 _Jurassic Puck_

 _The Return of Dr. Droid_

 _Mondo-Man_

 _Puck Fiction_

 _Monster Rally_

 _Buzz Blitzman Mighty Duck_

 _Bringing Down Baby_

 _The Iced Ducks Cometh_

 _The Most Dangerous Duck Hunt_

 _Duck Hard_

 _Now that's not to say I don't love these episodes. I love pretty much all of these (aside from a few). But it's occurred to me that with these episodes, pretty much nothing would be different with Anna present, or they wouldn't really add to any of the plot I'm working on with the second season. **So... here's where the importance of this update comes in.** _

_Yes, I'm writing for myself, but I want to know if there are any fans out there who would like me to write these episodes regardless. I just did the math, and at the rate I was going, I was going to end up with 70 chapters on this story and I just couldn't deal with that. So... from the list above, are there any episodes you're just dying to see Anna in? I really want to know! Please leave a review saying the episodes name (or if you have an idea of an episode but can't think of the name, describe it... cause I'm psycho and know every episode of Mighty Ducks ever) and I'll definitely get back to you about whether or not I'll write it. Until then, enjoy this chapter and I'll catch ya later! :)_

* * *

"Evasive maneuvers! Now!" Wildwing ordered. He and Tanya boarded to one side while Mallory, Grin and Duke swung around on the rope they were on to the other side. Mallory found an overhang in the mountain and ducked beneath it. Duke and Grin hung out in the open away from most of the avalanche. Just when they thought they were safe, a huge snowball bounded down the mountain towards them. Grin pulled back his fist, punching the snowball in half saving them both.

"Whoa, mama! That has got to hurt!" Duke muttered, shocked the duck had even been able to save them at all.

"Pain is an illusion…" Grin trailed off, before letting the pain show on his face, "An illusion that really really hurts."

Tanya herself stopped once she thought she was in clear. She turned back, seeing a plethora of snow heading her way. Wildwing flew in out of nowhere, grabbing her just before the snow would have covered her.

Anna watched them from above, sighing in relief when she saw that everyone on her team was safe. She had lost Nosedive somewhere though in all the ruckus. She turned her glider to go down but an updraft grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Oh shit…" she muttered, realizing she was going down in an uncontrolled fashion.

* * *

Nosedive flew around.

"Anna?" he called, worried about his friend he'd lost track of. He glanced down, seeing Wraith and Siege standing on a ledge, watching his team.

"Whoa, what are those saurian slime balls doing here?" he wondered, turning his glider to head downwards towards them.

"Get down you fool! You want one of the humans to see you!" The wraith scolded Siege for getting too close to the edge.

"Relax. In this storm, no one can see anything."

Nosedive found his opening, "Here comes no one!" he called, turned down towards Siege. The wraith vanished and Siege ducked, throwing Nosedive's glider off its path and causing it to crash him into a rock wall. He swerved, falling down below where the saurian's lookout nest was.

The wraith reappeared.

"Obviously we weren't as inconspicuous as you thought." He muttered.

"Doesn't matter. By now, that is one pressed duck." Siege covered.

"You better hope so. I dread being in your shoes if your foul up prevents Dragaunus from stealing the mammoth." The wraith droned.

Nosedive was hanging within hearing distance of the two saurians, his foot caught in a flimsy limb sticking out of the side of the mountain.

"Stealing the what now?" he wondered as he heard the limb start to crack. "This... is gonna leave a bruise..."

* * *

"Incoming!" Anna called, unable to control the glider. Still hanging from the mountain, Duke pushed off the side, swinging into midair and catching Anna. The glider kept flying, crashing into the snow not too far away.

He landed with his arm still around her. She was holding on tightly to him, her eyes squeezed shut.

She opened them, staring up at Duke.

"Thanks." She muttered, finally releasing her vice like grip around his shoulders.

She came to stand between him and Mallory as Wildwing and Tanya came sliding up.

"Everyone still in one piece?" he asked.

"We're cool." Grin muttered.

"Wait a minute. Where's Nosedive?" Mallory asked. As if on cue, they all heard a scream as the duck in question fell against the snow hard.

"Sonofabitch!" Anna muttered, having heard how hard Nosedive hit.

"Dive! Dive are you ok?" Wildwing yelled, coming over to lift his little brother up out of the hole his body had made.

"Mommy, I don't wanna go to preschool." He muttered incoherently before falling back into the hole.

Wildwing looked back at the others with fear on his face, though it wasn't obvious as he was wearing the mask.

"We better get him to the infirmary." He muttered.

"Dive?" Anna questioned, lifting him up out of the hole. Mallory helped, grabbing the other side. They got him laid down where they could actually look at him.

"Nosedive!" Anna suddenly shouted.

"Anna, that won't help." Tanya said.

"But…"

"He's not dead, Anna. He's knocked out. We've gotta get him back so I can ex-, exa- um… look at him and make sure he's alright." Tanya said. Anna nodded, seeing the TV team coming their way. She glared, not wanting her team's business all over the TV.

"Get the cameras out of here." She growled, meeting the camera crew.

"Anna! What just happened?" the camera guy asked.

"Nothing that is anybody's business but our own." She hissed, and the camera man realized something serious had happened. He lowered his camera, and she nodded, turning back around to go to Dive.

Every minute they stayed on the mountain, the more nervous Anna and Wildwing both seemed to get over Nosedive's wellbeing. But, they finally got him back into the infirmary. About half an hour had gone by and Wildwing didn't like how quiet Tanya had been while working.

"How's he doing?" Wildwing finally broke the silence. Nosedive tossed and turned in the bed, muttering incoherent words. He had a bandage around his head and Tanya was patting around the bandages with a wet wash cloth.

"well, that would depend on how much he enjoys concussions." Tanya muttered.

Duke walked in at that moment, and everyone turned to look at him.

"How's the kid?" he asked.

"Concussion." Mallory explained.

"Awe man. That sucks." Duke muttered.

"Oh yeah. There was a call while we were out. Somebody named Oliver asking for Anna?" he questioned it, not entirely sure who had called.

"Oli?" she asked, standing up and walking towards the rec room.

"Who in the hell is Oliver?" Duke asked once she was gone.

"Well, if you wouldn't have escaped with some girl the other night, you'd know she met Oliver at the club."

"Then he's too old for her." Duke muttered almost as quickly as Mallory had spoken.

"I really don't think you have a say in it." Mallory challenged.

* * *

Anna walked into the rec room to see Phil pacing. She ignored the manager, going over to the phone and returning the call.

"Hello?" came the familiar voice.

"Hey. You called?" she asked.

"Anna!" she could hear the relief in his voice. "Listen, I was totally going to wait for the three-day rule to call you, but I saw the episode of Reckless Behavior and I have to admit, I got a little worried about you."

She blushed and smiled to herself.

"I'm okay, Oli. Or Oliver. I didn't really ask you what you wanted to be called…"

"Oli is fine." He said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Alright, Oli. But yeah, everyone made it in one piece off the mountain. Well, sort of." She muttered the last bit.

"What happened?" he seemed genuinely concerned.

"Nosedive has a concussion. He's like a brother to me, so, you know, I'm pretty worried."

"Yeah, I would be too. Well, I hope he gets better."

"Yeah, me too." Anna agreed.

"Money, money, I'm losing money I'm going to sue those TV People for every penny they've got! How could they let a whole mountain fall down like that!" Phil was pacing back and forth just behind her and she rolled her eyes.

"Listen, our team manager is like freaking out." She said as she heard his phone ring.

"Yeah, yeah. What is it?" she heard him answer.

"What is thy bidding master."

Phil said it at the same time Oli had said he'd "better let her go then".

"Hold on." She said, giving Phil a weird look. She wasn't directly next to him so she had no idea who was on the other end of the phone.

"Anna?" Oli tried, and it distracted her enough that she only heard part of the next thing Phil said.

"One of them was injured."

Who was he talking to? Why didn't he sound like himself.

"The little… children…." Phil had tears enter his eyes as he came out of whatever trance and hung up the phone. At about that time, Wildwing walked in with the rest of the team.

"That's it! I'm cancelling the rest of the public appearances!" Wildwing ordered, furious.

"My manager's acting a little weird. I'll call you back later." She said. She barely gave Oli a chance to respond before slamming the receiver down.

"But the little children!" Phil fell on Wildwing, bawling.

"I think Phil finally made one deal too many." Mallory muttered.

"What's the matter with you?" Wildwing asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"You can't miss the school fundraiser. It'll let down all those poor kids." Phil explained before bawling on Wildwing again.

"Alright, alright. If it means that much to ya." Wildwing muttered, shoving the grown man off of him and walking away.

"You're a prince Wildwing. You won't regret this!" he said.

"Anna and Tanya. You stay here to keep an eye on Nosedive." Wildwing ordered.

"Wildwing, I'm fully capable of taking care of Nosedive myself." Tanya insisted.

"Yes, but if Dragaunus decides to do anything while we're gone, I'd rather have two of you here who can do something." Wildwing explained.

"Good point." Tanya admitted before she headed back towards the infirmary. Anna lingered, waiting for the rest of the ducks and Phil to head towards the aerowing. Wildwing sensed her hesitation and turned back.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Nothing… well, maybe nothing." She muttered.

"Anna? Talk to me. What's on your mind." He tried.

"Well, I came up here to return Oli's phone call. And like, you know, Phil was up here. He got a phone call and started acting… weird." She tried.

"What kind of weird?" he asked.

"Not like himself. He sounded as if… he was possessed or something." She tried. He rubbed his chin.

"I'll keep an eye on him. In the meantime, get downstairs. If Nosedive wakes up, contact me." He said. She nodded before walking off in the direction Tanya had gone. Wildwing watched her go before turning around and heading off towards the aerowing.

* * *

Once they arrived, the ducks exited the aerowing, glancing around at where they were.

"This is a school?" Mallory asked, her eyes going wide.

"Grin, check our coordinates." Wildwing ordered as the rest of them walked towards the bar.

They opened the doors, seeing grown bikers playing pool and drinking.

"If this is a school, then the cafeteria's got a full bar." Duke muttered.

"Yeah, and the teacher has a tattoo." Mallory added.

"Be nice, some of these kids have been held back." Phil muttered.

The bartender spat into a glass before rubbing a rag inside it.

"Hey, we don't serve no freaks here." He muttered. Mallory thought about getting angry but decided this low life wasn't really worth the trouble.

"Hey, maybe these nice folks can tell us where the school is." Phil tried, walking forward. Wildwing grabbed him, holding him back.

"Whoa, forget it Phil. We don't want any trouble."

"Relax." Phil said, brushing Wildwing's hand away, "I'll use my people skills on them." He promised, walking away.

"We're doomed." Mallory muttered.

"Hey! Hermanos!" Phil said, walking up and slapping a man on the back. The slap caused the man to miss his shot in pool. The stick stabbed into the felt and knocked the cue ball off the table onto another man's foot.

The man who missed the shot turned around, grabbing Phil.

"Hey, let him go!" Duke yelled.

"Back off, weirdos! Or your friend winds up stitches." The guy threatened. Suddenly, there was the sound of a blast, and the far wall was destroyed.

"Stand clear, earthlings!" a hunter drone stepped through the hole in the wall with more following behind him.

Phil and the guy who had just threatened him ducked beneath the pool table.

"Hunter drones!" Mallory said. Soon, the walls on all sides of them along with the ceiling were blown in as hunter drones crowded in.

"It's a trap!" Wildwing put together as they all stood back to back.

"Surrender or perish." One of the drones offered.

"How about none of the above?" Wildwing yelled, firing pucks at the drones.

"Wanna check out my greatest hits?" Mallory asked, turning around and kicking one of the drones against the jukebox. "Ah. Music to my ears." She muttered, dusting her hands off.

Duke, in the meantime, was blocking the fire from one of the drones with his saber.

He stepped back, and the blast from the drone knocked over a table with a coffee pot on it.

"You know, I'd love to chat over a cup of coffee…" he started before jumping in the air. "but maybe we should keep this conversation to the point." He said as he came down, slicing the hunter drone's firearm off.

More drones entered through the hole in the wall.

Wildwing and Mallory joined Duke and Wildwing activated his shield. The blasts bounced off the shield, but was knocking all three of them back.

"There's too many of them!" the fear was evident in Wildwing's voice. He felt Mallory's hand holding his arm as she stood behind him.

Finally, the drones shot above them at the roof. Wildwing looked up, seeing the blasts had caused the ceiling to crumble above them. Wildwing held his shield up as they all fell down beneath the rubble.

Before the drones could inspect the debris, they were interrupted by the door getting ripped off it's hinges.

"You guys are really starting to disturb my inner peace." Grin muttered, standing there. The drones started firing at him, but Grin dodged the fire strategically, taking all the drones down almost all at once.

He looked around, making sure there were no more before he dusted his hands off.

"I feel more peaceful already." He smiled.

* * *

Tanya and Anna were sitting across one another at the table. The News was on in the background.

"Got any sevens?" Tanya asked.

"Whoa! Wide awake!" the two ducks were startled by Nosedive suddenly coming to.

"Hey we got a problem!" he said, instantly getting to the point.

"What? What is it?" Tanya asked, standing up and walking over.

"On the mountain. I saw Siege and Wraith. And they were talking about stealing a mammoth." Nosedive informed.

"Stealing an extinct wooly elephant?" Anna asked.

"That's ridi- ridicu-… that's silly." Tanya added.

Suddenly, they tuned into the news channel.

"Take off is less than an hour away for the new mammoth rocket." The announcer said as a picture of a rocket appeared on the screen.

"Now a rocket, though. That makes more sense." Tanya said. "I bet Dragaunus wants its thrusters." She flipped open her comm.

"I better alert Wildwing." She tried to get ahold of him, but it was making an odd "disconnected" sound.

"Cool it, girlfriend. Us three can handle it." Nosedive said, standing up instantly.

"Nosedive." Anna muttered, shaking a bottle at him.

"What's that?"

"I know your head has to be hurting. We're not going anywhere until you take some Excedrin." She ordered, holding the bottle out to him.

"Okay, Mom!" he muttered, opening the bottle. Tanya just grinned at Anna.

"You know, you might make a pretty good mom someday." She muttered to the teenager. Anna just grinned as Nosedive handed the bottle back to her. She tucked the bottle in her side pouch, figuring he'd probably need more before the day was over.

* * *

"That's it! No more publicity stunts!" Wildwing ordered as he flew the aerowing home.

"It's just an autograph signing in a fireworks factory… what could happen?" Phil tried.

"Forget it, Phil!" Wildwing growled. Phil turned to walk to the back of the aircraft. At about that moment, his phone rang.

"Now what!" he muttered, answering it.

"Roast duck." Came the voice from the other end of the line, and his eyes almost instantly started glowing red again.

As they flew home, Duke had a funny feeling.

"You know, I've been thinking… Dragaunus' hunter drones couldn't have been there by accident."

"Every one of these appearances has been a trap!" Mallory agreed.

"Someone's been setting us up." Wildwing agreed, "somebody who knows our schedule." He glanced over towards Duke and Grin.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… You don't mean… Phil." Duke said, cracking the case.

"And why not…" Mallory scoffed, "he'd sell himself out if there were an angle to it."

"And Anna did say he was acting funny…" Wildwing added.

"Phil may be… unevolved. But he's not evil." Grin defended the manager. No sooner had he spoken, they heard a growl from the back.

"Destroy the ducks!" Phil growled, his eyes glowing red as he swung an axe around, destroying the aerowing from the inside.

"You were saying?" Mallory asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're going down!" Duke announced before the aerowing tilted down towards the sand dunes outside of Anaheim.


	15. Phil in the blank: pt 3

Phil was going absolutely bonkers, swinging an axe around as the Aerowing sped into a nosedive.

Grin went back, grabbing Phil and pulling the axe from his grasp.

"Look at his eyes!" Wildwing pointed, "it's like he's under some sort of mind control."

"How? Phil doesn't have a mind to control." Mallory muttered.

"Hold on, everybody! This is just going to be a little bit bumpy!" Duke said from the controls. The aerowing dived down, touching the ground and sliding a good 50 yards before coming to a hault.

"hey, everybody alright?" Duke asked, looking back. Wildwing and Mallory stood back while Grin still had a hold on Phil.

"Hey, let me go! Let me go!" Phil seemed to be back to his somewhat normal self suddenly. "What the hell is going on?" he asked, straightening out his tie.

"Dragaunus was controlling your mind… to get at us." Wildwing informed, having pieced it together.

"What?! I've been used! I hate that!" the manager growled, "it's supposed to be the other way around…" he muttered.

"If the saurians got to him, they could be jamming our coms!" Wildwing said, turning on the mask. He peered through, seeing something red beeping from within Phil's jacket. "and I think I just found out how." He said, reaching into the jacket and pulling out a saurian looking device. He crushed it in his fist.

* * *

Tanya pulled out her comm as they climbed the mammoth.

"Tanya, what are you doing?" Anna asked, glancing over.

"I'm going to try to contact wildwing again. I don't like this." She muttered, switching on her comm.

"Come in Wildwing." She tried.

"Tanya! Where the heck are you guys?" Wildwing asked.

"We're at the orbital industries launch facility." Tanya said. Realizing she'd gotten a signal, Nosedive opened his own comm.

"Dragaunus is about to steal this really big rocket they've got here." Nosedive added.

You wouldn't know it because of the mask, but relief washed over Wildwing's face at hearing his baby brother's voice. And he sounded so normal. His concussion appeared to be taken care of. He still didn't like that Anna and Tanya hadn't made him stay put at the rink, but then again he wasn't sure that he'd even be able to keep the wild teenager in bed for even a day.

"That would explain why Dragaunus had Phil run us ragged." Mallory concluded.

"And no one uses Phil Palmfeather!" the manager said, tying his tie around his head. "I'm gonna make shoes out of those two bits lizards." He threatened.

"Come on, we'll take the migrator." Wildwing said, taking note they were standing in a slightly banged up ship.

* * *

The migrator pulled up to orbital industries, causing the workers on duty to do a double take. The side door on the migrator opened and Phil stuck his head out.

"halt. You're on private property." Came the commanding voice over the speakers. Phil ignored it, walking forward and seeing a lizard appearing on top of the building.

"Uh oh." He watched as the lizard took a shape to look like a general, walking into the building.

"It's the chameleon." He said knowingly, running forward.

"Attention ducks." A different voice was now coming over the speakers. "This is general George S. Chameleon." The gun on top of orbital industries began to move. He said something else about blowing the ducks to bits and Mallory glanced over and Wildwing with a worried look.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was the chameleon." Mallory said.

"Duke, get us out of here." Wildwing said, leaning over the driver's seat. "Now."

Duke obeyed the order, just getting out of the way of a blast from the canon.

"You feather brains are never getting in here, you hear me? Never-" the chameleon's voice was cut off as it sounded like there was a struggle going on.

"What was that?" Mallory asked, knowing something had happened as the gun stopped firing.

"That's our cue to get in there. Fast." Wildwing said as they exited the migrator. They ran in to see Phil wrestling with the chameleon. About the time they got there, the chameleon shoved away from Phil, teleporting away.

"Oh beautiful Phil! You took on the chameleon!" Duke praised.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I." Phil said. It suddenly hit him what he'd actually done, and he fell to the floor, having fainted.

A countdown was heard in the background.

"You've gotta cancel the launch." Wildwing said, addressing the workers.

The workers seemed phased, but did as they were told. The one man walked over, picking up the radio.

"Countdown terminated. Launch postponed." He said. The counting stopped and everyone let out a sigh of relief. It was only seconds later, the rocket suddenly took off without warning.

"Hey, weren't the guys up there?" Duke asked, giving Wildwing a look.

"Shit…" he muttered, pulling up his com, "Nosedive, where are you?" he asked.

"A thousand feet up and climbing!" came the stressed response. Wildwing didn't hesistate. He immediately ran outside, the others following behind.

"I need to borrow that jet!" Wildwing said, pointing as he climbed in.

"It's a prototype, it hasn't even been tested." The worker tried, shrugging.

"Well it's about to get a test run." Wildwing said, flipping the switches.

"Can he really fly that thing?" he asked, turning around to Duke.

"Relax, goomba. There's nothing you can't tell a duck about flying." Duke said as Wildwing took off.

* * *

"Okay, the good news is Dragaunus is no longer controlling the rocket." Tanya informed them after snapping some wires on a controller.

"And… the bad news?" Nosedive pressed.

The rocket suddenly tilted and they all lurched.

"Nobody's controlling the rocket." Tanya said. The three of them crawled across the ground, opening up a door to the bottom of the rocket.

"Damn it Tanya. I told you to pack the parachutes!" Nosedive muttered.

"No you… nu huh!" she defended herself.

"Well next time, I'll send a memo." He said sarcastically.

"Dive, now's not the time. We've gotta figure a way out of here." Anna pressed.

"Ooh, I know! Let's jump! And hope we land in a pillow factory or some salt water!"

"What are you, nuts!" Tanya screamed.

"You know it!" Nosedive said, grabbing both Tanya and Anna's shoulders and falling forward, "ducks rock!" he yelled, flying through the air.

Wildwing saw the ducks falling from the rocket and released the canopy.

He flew beneath them, astonishingly catching all three of them.

Tanya's eyes were squeezed shut as she and Nosedive landed next to each other. Anna landed last, falling into Nosedive's lap. Tanya felt that she was no longer falling and opened her eyes, glaring at Nosedive.

"Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!" she growled.

"Hey, don't knock it! It worked!" Nosedive said, smiling.

"I'm with Tanya on this one… I think I almost lost my lunch back there." She muttered, glaring at him.

"Hang on, guys. We're going home!" Wildwing said, flipping the jet back around.

* * *

The ducks made their way back to the pond, all of them beat. As they walked in from the hangar, Drake 1 let off a doorbell sound before a video feed came up on the door outside.

It showed a young man standing at the door, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Who is that?" Duke asked, raising his eyebrow at the screen. Anna tapped on a button, leaning down to the speaker.

"I'll be right down Oli." She said. The man looked around, confused. But once he saw the camera, gave a thumbs up.

"That's Oliver?" Duke asked as Anna turned back around. She met his gaze, smiling.

"I'll be right back guys." She addressed all of them, heading for the elevator. Duke stared after her dumbfounded. He looked back, seeing everyone had looked towards the elevator with the same look on their face.

Finally, Nosedive cleared his throat.

"Well, I've got a comic I want to get caught up on." He muttered, turning to walk away.

"Uh, yeah. I rented a movie I was interested in. You guys want in?" Wildwing offered, looking at everyone.

"A movie sounds like a good wind down for the spirit." Grin said.

"yeah, and a good way to forget about being dropped out of a rocket." Tanya muttered.

"Yeah, I'm in." Mallory finally said, nodding.

Wildwing looked at Duke.

"You coming?" he offered. Duke was hunched over Drake 1.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a bit." He muttered, still staring at the buttons that lay before him.

"Ok." Wildwing muttered, giving him a weird look before walking away with the others.

Duke sighed as he heard the door close behind them. He reached over, pushing a button as he saw Anna appear on the screen.

"Hey." He heard her say through the video.

"Hey." Came the reply, and Duke eyeballed the screen, watching it carefully. He watched Oliver hand Anna the flowers.

"So, you never called me back." He drew out.

Anna blushed. "Yeah, sorry about that. This life we lead… it can get pretty busy." She explained.

"What happened? With your manager?" Oliver asked, stepping closer to her.

"Oh he's fine. Just some um… issues with mind control." She trailed off.

"Mind control?" Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah. Apparently, the saurians have the power to control people's minds." She explained briefly.

"Okay, you gotta help me out here. What are saurians?" he asked, laughing. She smiled, tilting her head at him.

"It might take a little bit to explain. Would you like to go for coffee?" she offered suddenly.

"Sure. There's a place just down the street." He promised, pointing. Duke's head perked up, but he knew he couldn't follow her. He most likely could get away with it, but it was so much harder to blend into a crowd on this planet. He let loose a sigh, hitting the mute button as he watched Oliver drape an arm around Anna before they disappeared off screen.

He hit a couple more buttons and watched as Drake 1's screen went into sleep mode.

* * *

Anna and Oliver shared a laugh as she told him the time Nosedive stuck a peanut in Canard's drink and Canard nearly choked to death.

"Canard nearly killed him that day." Anna said, choking on a laugh.

"You guys go way back, don't you?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, from the time I can remember, our moms were best friends." She said, and suddenly her face fell. Oliver reached a hand over, placing it on her shoulder.

"Hey. She would be so proud of you." He said, having heard the story of how her mother tragically passed. She gave him half a smile before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Well, we've sat here forever and all we've talked about is Puckworld. What's your story?" she asked, smiling.

"Oh, not much to tell really. I grew up here. My dad was never around, so it was just mom and me. I thought about college, but god only knows what I want to do with my life." He muttered, taking a sip of his own coffee.

"you'll figure it out." Anna said, "I mean, who knew I'd join the military?" she drew out to prove her point.

"So basically, whatever I'm meant to do, it'll work out for me?" he questioned.

"Exactly. And if we're meant to return to Puckworld, we will." She drew her point out.

"Well, this might be selfish of me, but I hope you guys stick around for at least a little while longer." He smiled, grabbing her hand. She returned his smile before yawning. She glanced at her comm and stood up. He followed her, laying some money on the table. The two walked down the street back towards the pond, making small talk.

"Listen, I had a good time tonight." Oliver said once they reached the doors of the pond.

"Me too." Anna said, smiling. A silence fell over them for a second before Anna cleared her throat.

"Well um, don't be a stranger. Stop by whenever." She said smiling.

"Oh yeah, of course." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ok-" Anna reached out to open the door when Oliver turned her back around and suddenly his lips were on her beak. She was shocked, but her eyes closed slowly as she fell into the kiss. He pulled away, smiling at her.

"I'll call you." He said, stepping away.

"Ok. Good night, Oli." She said, opening the door. He slightly tripped but caught himself as he turned back around, waving.

"Good night."

Anna sighed after she entered the rink. Inside it was dark, but she didn't bother flipping on a flashlight to make her way through since she knew her way around the building.

"You're getting in late."

She jumped at the Brooklyn accent and turned to see Duke sitting in the stands.

"You're not creepy at all." She muttered sarcastically, walking towards the elevator. He followed after her.

"What was that all about?" he asked, referring to her date with Oliver.

"We just went and got coffee. Talked a little bit." She defended, stepping into the elevator. He followed after her. "I didn't realize any of that was your business." She muttered.

"When one of my teammates is showing risky behavior, I make it my business." He snapped at her.

"Risky behavior?" she arched her eyebrow at him.

"Anna, do you know this guy?" he asked.

"Yeah, his name's Oliver." She stated simply. The elevator dinged, but Duke hit the button, keeping the doors closed and at the same time, blocking Anna's path.

"Do you REALLY know him?" he drew out.

"No, hence the reason we went to get coffee. To get to know one another." She drew out, "I thought you of all people would know how this works. You like somebody, you go get coffee, eventually you start doing other things together, eventually start dating..." she drew her point across, giving him a hard look.

"Anna, what if he's working for Dragaunus?" he threw out there.

"Dragaunus? Are you serious?" she asked. His look told her he was.

"think about it, Anna. Some random guy comes up to you in the club and shows an interest in you?" he asked.

"Yeah, well, some random slut came up to you. You didn't think twice. What did you know about her?" she asked suddenly, "did you even know her name?"

"This isn't about that. Besides, I'm able to handle myself, sweetheart."

"What, and I can't?" she cocked her head at him.

"I didn't say that." He tried. She shoved him aside, hitting the button.

"You certainly implied it." She snapped as the doors opened.

"Anna, sweetheart." She took a step, but waited for him to speak, "you don't know him." He tried again.

"I didn't know you either." She said, turning back around, "but that didn't stop me from giving you a chance."

His eyes went wide at this.

"Who I go out with is my business, Duke." With that, the teenager turned and stomped off, leaving a dazed ex-thief standing in the elevator, staring after her.


	16. Dungeons and Ducks: pt 1

Anna woke with a start, groaning. She glanced at her clock, knowing the rest of the ducks would be up, or if they weren't they'd be getting up soon. She didn't want to. She knew everyone was still pissed that they'd missed last week's game. The sports channels wouldn't shut up about it. What were they supposed to do? Play a hockey game and let Dragaunus get ahead? Possibly take over the world? No. As Team Captain, Wildwing had made a call last week, and she supported his call 100%.

She walked into the rec room, seeing the ducks had the TV on and were watching.

"These free loading fowls who have enjoyed the hospitality of our fair planet are nothing but a bunch of cowards." Came a voice from the TV, "and, if the Mighty Ducks do actually show up for tomorrow night's game against the Detroit Red Wings, I'll eat an old boot!"

Nosedive switched off the TV.

"I am so hurt! That's it! This jerk is not a charted member of our fan club! Forget it buddy!" Nosedive snapped.

"The only reason we missed that game is because we happened to be saving the world!" Duke snapped.

"No. In the words of hockey master, Tai Quack Do… we blew it." Grin murmured.

"Grin's right. Losing by forfeit is humiliating. As long as I'm Captain of this team, we'll never miss another game." Wildwing promised.

Anna looked bewildered at him.

"But Wildwing-" she was cut off by a beeping by Drake 1.

"Guys!" Tanya was already sitting, looking at the screen. "It's Dragaunus' ship!"

"After he's kept it hidden all these months." Wildwing added. "How?"

"Maybe his cloaking device malfunctioned." Tanya muttered.

"Or… we could be falling for the ol' trapola." Nosedive added.

"Well, even if it is a trap, we've gotta check it out."

* * *

"This is going to be too easy." Dragaunus sneered, tapping in some numbers.

"You'll never get away with this!" he reared his head towards the female duck that stood between the wraith and Siege.

"I've already gotten away with it. And thanks to you… It will be practically fool proof." He grinned, running a claw against her chin. She pulled away.

"You're asking me to ensure the destruction of my best friends…" she argued, knowing that Nosedive and Anna were on the team.

"Yes. But as long as you do… you'll be united with your brother back on Puckworld." He promised, smiling devilishly. "isn't that what you want?"

She sighed out.

"You promise. As soon as I give the report that this dragon has destroyed them…" she trailed off, looking worriedly at him.

"You'll be reunited with your brother back on Puckworld. I give you my word." He grinned. She thought before nodding.

"Alright." She muttered, and at her words the Wraith and Siege released her.

"Go." He waved her toward the door, and she huffed, walking away. "and Jessica?" she stopped, looking back.

"Make it convincing." She sighed out, walking away down the hall. Once they were sure she was out of earshot, Siege turned back to Dragaunus.

"Are you really gonna pull her out of that dimension just to send her back to Puckworld?" Siege asked.

"Of course not, you dolt. As soon as she ensures the ducks are destroyed, she'll join them." He snarled nastily as he hit a button on the screen. A video feed came up of the street outside.

* * *

The ducks made their way down the street. Wildwing turned the mask on, glancing around.

"That big triangular building! It's the raptor!" he announced. No sooner had he spoken, the raptor decloaked.

"Guys! Get back!" they looked to the base of the raptor, seeing a duck running towards them.

"Jess?" Anna asked, running towards the duck.

"No, Anna! Run!" Jess said, running towards them. "It's a trap!"

No sooner had she spoken, the head of the raptor tilted down, opening a dimensional gateway.

"Shit! Everyone grab onto something!" Wildwing shouted, grabbing onto a light pole. Grin was able to duck behind a building. Duke grabbed onto the pole behind Wildwing. Nosedive grabbed onto his brother, Tanya grabbed onto Nosedive and Mallory grabbed onto Tanya.

Anna grabbed Jess' hand and jumped for Mallory, but just missed the red head's hand.

"Anna!" Duke yelled from his spot behind Wing. He shot out a grappling hook for her to grab onto.

She caught it, her and Jess floating just outside the gateway.

"Um… guys?" Nosedive said, hearing the pole crack. It snapped under the weight and the ducks floated into the gateway. All but one. Grin poked his head out from behind the building once the gateway had closed.

"Bummer..."

* * *

The gateway opened, plopping the ducks down.

"Where are we?" Mallory asked, standing up.

"Exactly where we were!" Duke exclaimed, glancing around.

"That's impossible. We went through a dimensional gateway. We're in a different universe." Tanya explained.

"It's definitely different. The raptor's gone for one thing and so is the migrator." Wildwing added.

"And Grin." Mallory put in.

"Jess." Anna helped the girl up, "where'd you come from?" she asked the duck, helping her up.

"Anna, stand back." Wildwing ordered.

"Wing, it's just Jess."

"We can't be sure, Anna." Duke tried, receiving a glare.

"What, kind of how you can't be sure of Oliver?" she snapped at him suddenly, still standing by Jessica. "I know my best friend when I see her."

Wildwing sighed out, activating the mask.

"Well, she's a duck." He confirmed.

"See?" Anna snapped at Duke, "unlike some people, I know how to give a chance where it's due."

"Alright, knock it off you two." Wildwing cut in. He wasn't sure what was going on between them, but he knew this was no time for their arguing. "We still need to figure out where we are."

"But this IS Anaheim, right? Everything's the same. Even that drug…" Nosedive pointed behind him, "store?" he cocked his head at the sign.

"Spells and Potions?" Duke read aloud.

"Someone's pulling our tails." Mallory murmured.

The ducks walked in, Jessica keeping close to Anna.

"Man, do I ever get the feeling that we are not in Kansas anymore." Nosedive murmured, glancing around at all the bottles and books that hung on the shelves. Cobwebs occupied areas here and there.

"Um, excuse me." Wildwing stopped at the front desk where there was someone reading a paper. The person lowered the newspaper to show a long-crooked nose and big ears. Wildwing's question changed mid-sentence, "but, what are you?" he asked.

"What, you don't know a gnome when you see one?" the guy asked. Tanya sense the situation could get hostile and jumped in.

"Uh, look." She stepped in front of Wildwing, "where are we?"

"Anaheim, where else? A once proud kingdom now under the hail of the vile sorcerer Asteroth. Just disgusts me just to say it. But don't let it get around that I called him that…" He muttered. "Now can I interest you in some nice batwings. A little eye of newt maybe?" he asked, holding up the respective jars.

Both ducks got wide eyes.

"Uh, no thanks I think… we're just gonna browse." Tanya finally spit out.

The ducks walked back outside, glancing around.

"can someone please explain what's going on?" Mallory muttered with exasperation.

"Well sure, it's obvious ain't it?" Duke asked, "we came to Anaheim from another dimension, right?" Duke asked.

"Uh, yeah. I saw that episode. Go on." Nosedive muttered, rubbing his head.

"So, we've been sent to a totally different dimension. A dimension that's ruled by magic!" Duke pulled out his sword, "Sorcery! Adventure!" he did some moves with his sword, chuckling. "Oh yeah, this is my kind of town, baby!"

"Well, get used to it." Wildwing murmured, lowering Duke's sword, "Cause I don't see how we're ever going to get out."

"Jessica." He turned to look at the girl who stood timidly next to Anna, "good to see ya, kiddo." He said, pulling the girl into a hug. She was surprised at first, but returned it. "but how'd you get here?" he asked, pulling out.

"I was back on Puckworld tracking Lucretia Decoy." She murmured.

"Lucretia?" Duke's head popped up at the name.

Jessica nodded, "I caught up with her, started fighting with her. Mid punch, a whirlwind appeared out of nowhere dragging both of us in."

"Dragaunus brought Lucretia here to trick us. He must have accidentally brought you along too." Wildwing figured. Jessica nodded her confirmation.

"I don't know how long I've been on his damn ship. He told me about this plan. Said that if I successfully fed you to some dragon in this dimension, he'd send me back to Puckworld."

"A dragon?" Wildwing raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I'm not stupid. A lizard's word is no good. I only agreed to his stupid plan because I hoped I could stop you guys from getting too close to the ship, and then hopefully I'd be able to escape with you guys. Obviously that plan didn't work so well." She murmured, shaking her head.

"Hey, as long as you aren't feeding us to some dragon, I'm good." Duke murmured.

"Even though a few minutes ago, you weren't good with her?" Anna asked him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"A few minutes ago, we didn't know-"

"Guys! Knock it off!" Wildwing stepped between the two ducks. What was going on with these guys?

A struggle was heard somewhere across the street and the ducks turned to see some sort of humanoid vulture fighting with what appeared to be an elf of some kind. They ran towards the fight.

"Hey big weirdo! Quit picking on that little weirdo!" Nosedive shouted.

They watched as the "little weirdo" fended off the "big weirdo" with ease.

The elf like creature turned around, peering at the ducks.

"What? Asteroth sends more bird creatures to capture me?" he asked, shooting his sword off towards them, "can't he think of something more original?"

The sword sliced through the air and Nosedive had to duck and dodge. The sword was so fast, he knew he wouldn't dodge the next blow and he just closed his eyes. Duke jumped forward, slicing the sword away. It landed in the ground at the elf's feet. Anna ran up, placing a hand on Nosedive's shoulder.

"You alright?" she asked.

He nodded, though fear was still evident on his face.

"Hey take it easy! You could take someone's eye out with that thing! I should know." Duke scolded.

"You appear to be malevolent creatures." The elf defended.

"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving." Duke said, his finger in the air, "we are friends to anyone who struggles for a noble cause." He then grinned, "I always wanted to say that."

"Well then, friend, I am glad to see you." The elf said, stretching out a hand to shake Duke's, "I am Borg, Prince regent of Anaheim." He introduced before beginning to walk away. "Now please, this way, it is not safe for me to linger out in the open." He explained, leading them away.

Once they reached a warehouse, Borg took a seat on one of the crates while the ducks circled around him.

"My kingdom has been usurped by Asteroth, lord of the Red Dragon."

"Red dragon?" Jess asked, giving Anna an uneasy look. Anna put a reassuring hand on Jess' shoulder.

"He enslaved the people, made my palace a citadel of evil, and sent monsters to hunt me down." Borg explained.

"Man, a thing like that could spoil your whole day." Nosedive threw in.

"What of you? How came you to Anaheim?" Borg asked.

"I'm glad you asked." Duke said, "We were in battle with an evil overlord when a magical whirlwind picked us up and carried us across the skies to your land." He explained briefly.

"And frankly, we could use a little help getting back to our own world." Wildwing added, crossing his arms.

"Friends, perhaps we can help one another!" Borg said excitedly, standing up.

"How, your highness?" Duke asked.

"The source of Asteroth's power is his amulet. Help me defeat him, and it can return you to your world!"

"Your highness…" Wildwing stretched out his hand. "it's a deal."

Anna and Jess followed behind the rest of the group. Duke was walking right next to Borg the whole way, meaning he was at the front of the group. Jess and Anna fell back a little bit.

"So, who's Oliver?" Jessica asked, glancing sideways at Anna.

"He's a guy I'm seeing." Anna said innocently.

"How long?" she asked.

"Oh… a couple of months now I guess." Anna murmured.

"What did you mean earlier? When you said Duke wasn't sure about Oliver?" she asked.

"Oh, that." Anna rolled her eyes. "That's nothing."

"Didn't seem like nothing." Jess tried.

"Behold, the royal palace of Anaheim." The girls looked ahead to where Borg had led them and realized they were standing outside of…

"It's City Hall." Mallory stated.

"Well, I guess in this dimension, it's a royal palace." Tanya said.

"I know all the secret passageways." Borg promised as they came to stand in front of the building, "there's just one thing I've never been able to get past."

"What?" Wildwing asked.

"Them!" Borg exclaimed as the gargoyles on top of the building started to transform and come to life. The gargoyles began to descend on the ducks.

"Whoa! Now I know why they say you can't fight city hall!" Nosedive cried out.

 _author's note: so, in the series the ducks play the weirdest named teams... in the actual interview up there, where the guy said he'd eat an old boot if they actually showed up for their game, the team they originally were supposed to play were the "Minnesota Cheeselogs" I did my research... first of all, the actual name of the Minnesota team is Wild... but not only that, they weren't founded until June 1997 and even then weren't in the NHL until like 2000-2001. So, there's your little hockey history lesson... and, I just decided to stick them playing the Detroit Red wings... Because it's a real team and I'm tired of the series coming up with stupid hockey team names for the ducks to play against. So, don't be surprised if in this rewrite you catch me replacing fake teams with real teams. That is all! Hope you guys liked this chapter! And, I am no longer ahead of updates... so hopefully I find some devine motivation and get writing this week so you guys can get a chapter next friday! Until then, Love you all and thank you for your continued support!_


	17. Dungeons and Ducks: pt 2

_uploading on Thursday night/early friday morning (hopefully I don't get distracted) because I'm now a home health care provider for my great grandmother (the whopping age of 98, I think) who has never heard of Wifi... in the words of Mookie, "visiting our grandma's and being bored out of our skulls!" seriously though, it's happening. Well, not really..._

 _If I can take a time out for myself right now, ever since I moved back in August, it just feels like I can't do anything right anymore. I do something right, and they don't say anything. I do one little thing wrong, and suddenly I'm the worse person ever. As a CNA I was taught to allow people to remain independent as long as they could... here, I'm getting yelled at for not doing EVERYTHING for my great grandma... I'm just tired. Tired of not being good enough, and tired of just not belonging with this side of the family. I want to go home, back to Montana. Until then, I'm stuck here. If anything, the ducks are keeping me sane through all this crap (although I'd be considered insane relying on fictional ducks to keep up in sanity)._

 _All in all, please don't let me disappear on you guys, because if I do I fear the worse. I'm worried I might have a little incident like in chapter 7, which is scary to think about but it's a possibility at this rate. I'm not appreciated, I'm worthless, I keep messing up and just don't feel like I matter anymore. Just, don't let me disappear on you guys! And in the meantime, I'll continue to fight these demons. Anyways, much love to all and I'm sorry… this isn't meant to freak you guys out… it's just… a way for me to vent and truly show what I'm feeling right now, even if what I'm feeling isn't all that healthy._

* * *

Three intimidating gargoyles circled around the ducks.

"What are those things?" Wildwing wondered, preparing himself for a fight.

"They're my royal guard. But Asteroth turned every one of them into a homunculus!"

"Homuncu-what?" Dive asked from his spot.

"a creature of pure evil!" Borg added to his explanation. Mallory stepped forward.

"Those grunts don't look so tough." She muttered. No sooner had she spoken, all three creatures spit something out of their mouth. At first, the objects looked like black stones. But then, the stones cracked open to reveal arrows engulfed in flames.

The ducks dodged out of the way. Wildwing took a step back, taking aim at one of the creatures. He fired, knocking the mostly purple colored one out of the sky, but the other two still aimed at them, firing flame engulfed arrows at Borg. Borg used his shield before running to safety. Duke and Dive stepped forward, firing two bolas at the creatures.

The bolas were perfectly aimed, wrapping around the royal guards and entrapping their wings, forcing them to fall to the ground.

"Sorry guys." Nosedive muttered, walking by. "But all flights are grounded until further notice."

Jessica laughed at Nosedive's joke and he threw her a smile before turning back and walking toward the entrance with Borg. Jess was still smiling when she met Anna's irritated gaze.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't do that." Anna muttered.

"Do what?" Jess asked innocently.

"Encourage him." Anna muttered, but she grinned as she said it letting her know she was joking.

Borg walked up to the side of the building, pulling down a stone dragon head. The motion caused a secret passage way to open, allowing the ducks inside.

"Follow me." Borg beckoned as the ducks walked after him.

"ooh, interesting décor." Duke murmured, glancing around. The walls had torches and skulls hanging around on either side.

"What do you expect from an evil dragon?" Anna muttered, rolling her eyes.

Wildwing shot her a look. _Seriously? Did he even deserve that one?_ He wondered, but shook it off. Either it'd come to the surface, or he'd bug her about it later.

"Quickly. We must face several perils before we reach Asteroth's stronghold." Borg informed.

"You're just saying that to cheer us up, right?" Nosedive asked sarcastically.

"There's a shortcut through here." Borg said, leading them into a separate room.

"The city council chamber!" Tanya exclaimed.

"How does she know so much about city hall?" Anna whispered to Jess. Jessica just shrugged.

"Ay," Borg said to Tanya's comment, "where the council of the wise used to convene" he explained. "but it hasn't been used since Asteroth's conquest."

Suddenly, they heard the creaking of bones.

"Whoa, heads up!" Nosedive warned as an army of skeleton men made their way into the room.

"I'm guessing Asteroth has a few skeletons in his closet." Duke commented, drawing his sword. Anna drew her own as she passed Jessica her puck launcher.

Wildwing and Nosedive fired pucks at three of the skeletons, exploding them immediately. Duke was being backed into a corner by a skeleton with an axe.

Anna barreled into the skeleton's side, knocking it into a pillar and sending its head flying. She looked back at Duke, looking for confirmation he was alright. He was holding the head and grinning.

"What?" she asked.

"Well," he started, "that's one way to get ahead." He then laughed at his own joke and Anna rolled her eyes at him.

Meanwhile, Tanya had pulled out her saw, pointing at the skeleton approaching her. "did anyone ever tell you, you have fabulous bone structure?" she asked before slicing her saw through the skeleton's sword and body checking the skeleton into the wall.

"Bone voyage!" Nosedive shouted, taking aim at a skeleton that was sneaking up on Jess. The bones exploded, and Jess spun around, meeting Dive's gaze.

"Whoa, Anna." Duke started, catching a glimpse of her arm. Some blood trickled down it.

"I must have hit his axe on the way down." She muttered, trying to pull away from him.

"No, hold on." He said, keeping his grip on her arm. He saw a shadow fall over them and looked up to see yet another skeleton, holding a spear above his head.

"Look out!" Duke shouted, shoving Anna out of the way. He pulled out his sword at the same time, blocking the blow.

He forced the skeleton back, stabbing through to its spine. The skeleton let out a giggle, and Duke smirked.

"Oh, right in the funny bone!" he said before swinging and knocking the pile of bones over.

"Coast is clear." He said, meeting back up with the others. Stomping was heard, and a huge shadow fell over the ducks as a giant skeleton man lingered over them.

"Uh, yeah. Except for him!" Anna exclaimed, pointing.

"Got a spare puck, Wildwing?" Duke asked. Wildwing handed Duke an explosive puck. He pushed the button, activating it before throwing it at the skeleton's chest. In a matter of seconds, the skeleton exploded, leaving a pile of dust of bones.

"Anyone got any more bone jokes?" Duke asked, looking around, "no? Well then let's move on!"

* * *

Borg led the ducks through a giant doorway that opened up to a maze.

"Now my friends, only one thing stands between us and Asteroth's stronghold." Borg stated, motioning to the maze in front of them, "the maze of infinite peril."

"Alright!" Nosedive was a little too excited, "every government building needs its own maze of infinite peril."

"Yeah, probably used to be the DMV." Tanya muttered, chuckling.

Duke hung back, trying to fall into step with Anna. She wouldn't match his step, trying to walk ahead of him.

"Anna!" he got her attention and she gave up, falling into step with him.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asked, motioning back to her arm. There was dry blood on her spandex now.

"It's just a scratch, L'Orange." She muttered.

"L'Orange?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at her as the group turned a corner. "where'd that come from?" he asked.

"It's your name, isn't it?" she asked, not meeting his gaze.

"Anna, not once have you called me by my last name. Not even in the military, where everybody goes by last names… not once. What's going on with you?" he asked.

"Nothing." She snapped, walking faster.

"Anna." He grabbed her arm, holding her back. She cringed, trying to pull away from him.

"Duke-"

"That's better." He said, cheekily remarking that she'd finally said his first name. She glared at him.

"Duke, you're really-"

"Amazing? I know, right? It's like I don't even try." He smiled at her. She rolled her eyes at him as she continued to follow the group down the halls of the maze.

"Anna, wait." He tried, and she waited for him before falling into step with him yet again.

"What's really going on? You've been kind of cold with me lately." He said.

"You know what's going on." She snapped.

"Oh, what. Because I'm cautious?" he asked suddenly, raising his voice. Wildwing's head perked up as he heard the ducks at the back of the group arguing.

"What the hell's going on with them?" he heard Mallory behind him. He sighed.

"No idea."

"Cautious is one thing, Duke. But you? You're overbearing!"

"How so?"

"You really want to know?"

"That's why I asked!" he growled.

"Guys!" Wildwing stopped the group walking, and turned back to see Anna and Duke glaring at each other, shoulders hunched, beak to beak.

"What!" they both growled, turning back to look at Wildwing. Wildwing looked surprised but dropped it.

"Duke, take up the front. Anna, stay in the back. When we get out of this mess, both of you will be benched from missions until you can figure this crap out!" Wildwing suddenly ordered.

"You're benching me!" Anna snapped.

"You betcha I am!" Wildwing growled, turning around as Borg began to lead them further into the maze.

"Are you serious?" she hissed.

"Note: the serious face!" he said, pointing, "I can't have you two arguing, endangering yourselves and the rest of us during missions." He explained.

"Bench him! He's being the asshole!" she growled.

"Anna, we're done here. That's an order." Wildwing barked. He heard Anna grumble something under her breath before silently taking up the back.

A few minutes passed before they rounded another corner.

"Wildwing, we're getting more lost by the second." Mallory voiced her worries.

"Forgive me my friends." Borg murmured, sounding defeated. "my magic isn't powerful enough to get us through the maze."

"mine is." Wildwing said, activating the mask.

"That way!" he ordered after a few seconds. They fired an explosive puck at the wall, taking it out.

They did this to two more walls before Wildwing turned back. "We're almost there." He announced, firing a puck at the door in front of them, blowing it off its hinges. They all ran inside.

"Alright, give it up for the ducks!" Nosedive announced.

"So, you survived the journey to my stronghold." A soft yet menacing voice was heard as a tall figure draped in a red cloak turned around. His hair was white, and the wrinkles in his face showed his age.

"That old geezer is Asteroth?" Nosedive asked incredulously.

"This won't even be a skirmish." Mallory said, smirking.

"We could always just let Duke fight him. I mean, they seem pretty close in age. Maybe it'd be fair." Anna muttered. Nosedive made an "oh" face before fist bumping Anna.

"Anna!" Wildwing scolded.

"What? I'm already benched!" she defended.

"Nobody challenges the lord of the red dragon and lives!" the _old geezer_ said before touching the amulet around his neck. It glowed green, and in a matter of seconds, he turned into a red dragon.

"uh, guys? We might have to change the name of the team…" Tanya muttered.

"To what?" Mallory asked.

The dragon reared back his head, releasing fire from its mouth heading right for the ducks.

"Roast!" she exclaimed.


	18. Dungeons and Ducks: pt 3

Wildwing quickly activated his shield, blocking the flames that shot towards them. He felt the heat and felt his feathers sweating, hoping the shield would be strong and big enough. The flames died down and he sighed out, looking back towards Asteroth. The dragon took off, flying above them.

"Wretched mortals!" he growled, "you'll perish in the fires of the red dragon!" he exclaimed, flames licking at his lips.

"I'll take a pass on that whole perishing thing." Anna muttered. The ducks began opening fire. Anna reached for her puck launcher but realized it was missing out of her holster. She nearly panicked before looking over, seeing Jessica was firing at the dragon. _That's right... I gave it to Jess_. Anna remembered. She drew her sword, however, ever ready for a close encounter with the beast.

The dragon blew fire their way, missing by a few inches, before landing near the window.

"It's time for a mass body check!" Wildwing ordered.

"I'm with you, my friends!" Borg agreed.

The ducks all rushed forward, shoving the dragon out of the window. They all fell out as well, landing in various locations.

"You'll pay for this!" Asteroth growled, getting up.

"Uh, do you take personal checks?" Tanya asked.

"Owe!" Anna turned back around to see Jess still laying on the ground, squirming in pain.

The dragon flew around the clock tower as Anna lifted Jess up, wrapping Jess' arm around her shoulders.

"You alright?" Anna asked.

"My ankle. I think it's twisted." She muttered, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain.

"The pendent is the source of his power!" Borg explained, pointing off towards the dragon.

"Well, how're we gonna get it?" Wildwing asked. Anna saw the look of uncertainty, even past the mask.

"How about a little fire, duck!" the dragon roared, circling back and shooting a fireball. Nosedive, Duke and Tanya took off running but Nosedive stopped, the others running into him as the fireball landed right in front of where he was running.

"Maybe we should just get some marshmallows and make the best of it, huh?" Nosedive asked. The dragon circled back, blowing fire at them again, causing them to run. Anna threw Jess on her back quickly, piggy backing her out of the way of harm.

"Hey. Hey, wait a second." Duke started, "what's the one thing a fire breathing dragon would fear?" he asked.

"The fire marshal?" Mallory asked.

"Uh, Smokey the bear?" Tanya added.

"His ex-wife and her lawyer!" Nosedive put in.

"Those are all very good, but no." Duke said.

"Water." Anna said, meeting his gaze. He smiled at her, nodding.

"Exactly! If we can keep him penned in with those fire hydrants, I think I can get the amulet!" Duke tried.

"Wait, why are **you** getting the amulet?" Anna suddenly asked.

"Not again…" Wildwing murmured. That last look he'd seen Duke and Anna share made him think they were done arguing. Her tone now told him otherwise.

"Well who else is going to do it?" he asked.

"Anna, ease off. It was Duke's idea, and I think it might work."

"And if it doesn't?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. She still held Jess around her shoulders.

"If it doesn't, then you have my permission to blow up at him then. But not before!" Wildwing argued.

"Fine." Anna murmured. Duke nodded, running off to one of the nearby buildings and beginning to climb.

"What is going on with you guys?" Wildwing asked, but before he could get an answer, stomping was heard down the street.

"Roast, mortals!" the dragon growled, firing off a fireball at a nearby building.

"Shit!" Wildwing muttered as the ducks all eased their way back. Duke was nearby, climbing as quickly as he could.

"You'll not escape my fiery breath!" the dragon chuckled, building up another fireball.

"Anna, get Jess out of here!" Wildwing ordered, knowing the girl couldn't walk at the moment. Anna threw Jess back on her back, piggy back style as she took off running.

The dragon saw the two ducks breaking away from the group and blew a barrier of fire, blocking Anna's path. As she tried to stop herself from running, she lost her balance and she and Jess hit the ground.

"Anna!" Duke shouted, seeing the dragon approach her. He looked back up, pushing himself faster to get to the top of the building.

Asteroth neared the two girls, Jess cowering into Anna's shoulder. Anna held her arm out in front of Jess, protecting her from the big brute.

"Do I seem so old now?" came the comment from the dragon.

"Wildwing, do it now!" Duke shouted once he thought he'd reached a good enough height. In all honesty, he wasn't quite to the top yet, but the dragon was so close to Anna.

Anna could see flames building up in Asteroth's mouth and she leaned against Jess, closing her eyes. She heard the puck blasters go off, and soon she felt water spraying over her and Jess.

"Water! No!" the dragon shouted, turning from the girls and suddenly taking off from the ground. Duke just barely reached the top of the building and turned to see Asteroth trying to fly away. Anna watched as Duke leaped from the building.

"He's not gonna make it." She thought out loud, her eyes going wide. Just barely, he was able to get his left arm around the dragon's neck, climbing up.

"Feathered vermin! Get off me!" Asteroth growled.

Anna watched as Duke sliced through the pendant that hung around the dragon's neck.

"my pendant! No!" he growled. Duke leaped from the dragon's back, and Anna gasped. She ran in the direction Duke jumped, holding out her wrist and shooting a grappling hook. She sprung up from the ground and caught Duke midair.

"Hey, sweetheart." He seemed surprised to see her as he grabbed the cable and his arms encircled her.

They swung back around, landing near where the red dragon had transformed back into a measly old man.

"Thanks for the save, but you know I've got one of those myself, right?" he muttered, holding up his wrist to exaggerate where his grappling hook was. She was suddenly embarrassed. She knew, but in that split second of seeing him fall, she'd somehow forgotten.

"I know!" she lied, "I just didn't trust you to use it right!" she snapped, walking away.

The old man stood there as the ducks circled around him.

"Now, sorcerer, you have no power!" Borg mocked. "Be gone!" he insisted.

"You have won this time, princeling." Asteroth sneered, "but you've not heard the last of Asteroth." He threatened, wings appearing from his back as he flew away into the sky.

"I don't care what anybody says, that guy is a one-man party!" Nosedive muttered. He glanced over, seeing Jess sitting on the ground.

"Yo, Jess. You alright, girly girl?" he asked, helping her to stand. He threw her arm around his shoulders.

"I'm good, Dive." She promised, smiling at his embrace. They turned back to Borg.

"The tyrant is banished! Anaheim is free again!" Borg announced. "Oh, my friends. How can I ever thank you?" he asked.

"Well, you can get us out of here!" Tanya exclaimed. "This place is weird city!"

"Easily done! You must all touch the amulet." He said, placing the jewel in Wildwing's gloved hand, "and speak the incantation, which-"

"Don't tell me," Nosedive cut him off as they all touched the amulet, "there's no place like home!"

"How did you know?" Borg asked.

"Eh, I own the video!" Nosedive murmured, referring back to his "Wizard of Oz" movie.

With that, the ducks disappeared into another dimensional gateway. As they floated through, Wildwing had a thought.

"You know, after all that excitement, our Anaheim is going to seem downright boring." He muttered to the rest of the team.

The gateway opened, plopping the ducks down onto the street.

The ground was shaking, and the ducks looked up just in time to see the clock tower topple down towards them. The ducks all jumped out of the way, Nosedive grabbing onto Jess and rolling her with him.

"You were saying?" Anna muttered toward Wildwing.

"Come on! The activity is coming from over there!" Wildwing beckoned them to follow him just down the street to a tower that was glowing purple and blue on top.

"Stay here." Nosedive said, helping Jess sit on the curb out of harm's way.

"In a few minutes, we'll shake this city flat!" they all heard the familiar saurian's voice, "and no ducks will stop us!"

Wildwing fired a puck in their direction.

"It's time for a reality check, creeps!" Wildwing announced as the rest of the ducks opened fire.

"The ducks are back!" Siege whined.

"And this time, it's personal!" Dive said, stepping forward, "I've always wanted to say that!"

It took no time for the saurians to realize they were beat and they teleported away.

"That thing will shake the city apart!" Wildwing exclaimed, pointing to the top of the tower.

"Guys, guys!" they all heard the distressed call of their manager, "don't forget your teammate and your loveable manager!" it was coming from a nearby building that was being shook apart.

"They must have tried to stop the saurians." Jess inquired.

"Well, they did a hell of a job, didn't they!" Anna muttered, running for the door of the building.

"Tanya. Mallory. Shut that thing down!" Wildwing said, pointing towards the tower before taking off after Anna. Duke and Nosedive followed him.

Anna reached the room, trying to figure out how to disarm the bonds that held the duck and manager in place.

"There's no time for that!" Wildwing said, leaning Grin's chair back. Duke took up the bottom of the chair while Nosedive and Anna grabbed onto Phil. Wildwing and Duke exited first with Nosedive and Anna following behind.

"Shit!" Anna growled as she stopped. Nosedive jerked, but realized Anna wasn't moving.

"What?" he asked, as rubble fell around them.

"Get out of here!" she hissed, and Nosedive realized her foot had fallen through the steps.

"No! Anna, let's go!" Nosedive tried, setting Phil down and running over.

"Um, guys! This is no time to be messing around!" Phil called as rubble hit his head. A beam fell, landing close to where Phil was lying, "alright, that's it! We gotta go, now!" he growled from where he was laying.

"Get Phil out of here!" Anna barked at Nosedive.

"Hold on, Anna! I think I can get it." He tried. She hissed in pain as he twisted her leg wrong.

"Go now!" she shoved him away from her. "Get him out of here!" Another beam came falling down, landing right next to Anna on the steps. She gasped and jumped at how close it had landed. She glanced back, fear in her eyes. Nosedive looked hopeless, throwing Phil up over his shoulders.

"I'm coming back for you!" he yelled, running out of the door. He set Phil down next to where the others had set Grin.

"Where's Anna?" Wildwing asked. Nosedive didn't have time to explain as he turned back to run into the building. Duke sensed the kid's worry and took off after him. Right as they reached the door, however, the building collapsed.

"No!" Dive shouted, falling to his knees.

"Anna?" Duke asked, his eyes going wide as he glanced back to Wildwing.

In the meantime, Tanya and Mallory were stuck at the bottom of the tower, trying to figure out how to shut the machine down.

"It's too risky to cut the cable." Tanya muttered, grabbing at the cable at the bottom of the tower.

"Forget it Tanya." Mallory said, loading her puck blaster with an explosive puck, "target acquired." She fired the puck at the top of the tower. The puck exploded once it hit the object that had been causing the seismic activity. All at once, the continuous earthquake stopped.

Tanya and Mallory joined the others. Wildwing had found the buttons to undo Phil and Grin's bonds. Nosedive and Duke were digging through the rubble of the building Grin and Phil had been in.

"What happened?" Tanya asked. Wildwing couldn't meet her gaze.

"Where's Anna!" Mallory demanded, getting to the point.

"Annie!" she heard Nosedive's distressed voice and shoved past Wildwing to the debris of the building.

"Come on, sweetheart. Where are ya?" Duke murmured, rubbing his head.

"Hey! Little help please!" came an almost sarcastic voice from a few feet from where Nosedive was standing.

"Over here!" Nosedive called to the others as they all ran over. All except for Jess, who sat on the sidewalk, craning her neck to try to see if Anna was alright.

He pulled a piece of the ceiling out of the way to find Anna with a beam laying across her stomach.

"Hey Annie!" Nosedive said cheerfully.

"Hey, dummy. Now, would you be a doll and maybe pull this thing off me?" she asked. Nosedive grinned, looking back over to the other ducks.

"Yo, Grinster. You're up." He called. The big duck walked over, picking up the beam with ease and setting it out of the way. Anna squinted, holding in a cry of pain as she held her stomach.

"Hey, sweetheart. You alright?" Duke asked, reaching out his hand. She took it and sat up slowly, almost regretting the motion.

"Never been better." She said through gritted teeth.

"How did you guys get back?" Grin suddenly asked.

"With this thing." Wildwing pulled out the amulet, showing it to him, "we'll have to put it somewhere safe."

"You could use it for a hockey puck for all I care!" Phil cried, "You've got a game in five minutes!"

The ducks all loaded up into the migrator, Jess leaning against Nosedive for support.

As Wildwing drove the migrator as quickly, but speed appropriately as possible (much to Phil's distaste), Duke forced Anna to lay down on the med table.

"I'm fine, really." She murmured, but he ignored her, lifting her shirt anyways. He pressed around her upper stomach and tried to ignore her quick inhales through her nose. He was hurting her, but there was no way she'd admit it.

"I think you broke a couple of ribs." He muttered.

"Hey, considering a building fell on me, I'd say that's pretty good." She murmured.

"Either way, we probably need to scan you with the medicom." He insisted as she sat back up. She had a pained expression but was trying to hide it from Duke.

"Fine, we'll do the scan after the game." She agreed.

"Oh no, _we're_ going to go to the game. You're going downstairs and getting yourself and Jessica checked out." He argued.

"No way! You guys are my team and-"

"And we'll be fine without you for this one." He tried. She looked down, but he put a hand on her cheek, guiding her to look at him.

"look, sweetheart, I know it's no fun being in the infirmary all the time. Believe me, I hated it when I ended up down there." He was talking about his days in the brotherhood. "but trust me, it's where you need to be." He tried.

She sighed out, and for the first time she realized how close her beak was to his. It'd be so easy to kiss him right now. _Stop that! You're dating Oliver!_ Her brain told her. So, why was she gravitating towards him?

"Look, Duke, I know you're only looking out for me." She started. Wildwing perked up at this, realizing that was the least hostile approach Anna had taken with Duke all day. "but I'm only coaching anyways. I could understand missing the game if I were playing. There's no way I'd want to get checked in this condition. But I'm watching, and writing down plays. I promise, there's no way I could strain myself between now and the end of the game. And then I promise I will go to the infirmary." She said sincerely. He sighed out and now it was her turn to tilt his chin up to look at her. "I truly promise." She added.

"Sweetheart, you drive a hard bargain." He muttered. She smiled before hugging him, shortly after regretting the movement as a burning sensation went up her ribs. She tried to hide it, but knew Duke had caught her. He ignored it, however, and she silently thanked him for dropping it and not pressing the matter any further.

It wasn't too long later that the migrator pulled into the underground garage.

"Alright, let's move, move, move!" Phil ushered, practically shoving the ducks out of the migrator. Anna and Jess stayed behind for the moment, both being injured.

"Here." Anna said, walking over to a closet in the back. She pulled out some crutches, bringing them over. She measured out where they would be on Jessica before giving them to the girl. "These should help ya until we get an x-ray of your ankle." Anna explained.

"Thanks Anna." She said as both girls slowly made their way out of the migrator.

"So, what's going on?" Jess asked. Anna shot her a confused look, "between you and Duke?" Jessica clarified.

"A couple months ago, when Oliver and I first kissed… I got in a little late. Well, a certain ex-thief had waited up for me." She muttered.

"Why?" Jessica asked as they neared the locker room.

"Who knows. Because he thinks he needs to act like a big brother or something?" Anna questioned.

"Weird dude." Jess said.

"It was. I basically told him to mind his own business and that was that." She tried.

"But that wasn't really it." Jess informed her.

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"You need to actually talk to Duke. You two keep fighting and obviously, Wildwing benched you guys because it was getting so bad he didn't want it carried over into the field; when you're fighting Dragaunus." Jess tried.

"I know." Anna muttered, opening the door to the locker room, "but I'll do it later." She giggled as they walked completely into the locker room. The ducks were just skating towards the entrance of the rink. Duke was the last one, just putting his helmet on. He and Anna made eye contact for a split second before he took off after the others.

"you need to do it soon." Jess said, having noticed the look the two ducks had shared. Anna shook her head.

"Come on. Let's go watch the game." she said, avoiding the conversation and walking out through the tunnel. Instead of going onto the ice, she stepped into the Duck's box. She glanced behind her to see Oliver sitting in his designated seat. She'd given him a season pass to the games ever since they'd started dating so he could attend the games if he wanted. Lately, they'd leave together after the games and grab a late dinner or coffee as a date. She waved to him before turning back to watch the puck drop.

The game was on.

 _AN: okay, I know I'm mean, injuring two ducks in the same episode but it bothers me that the ducks go through sooo much shit and nobody ever gets injured. I mean, falling out of a 2 story window? My theory is Jess has weak ankles. Anyways, I'm hopefully getting better as I'm planning to move back home within the next month (worse time of year, but I'm sick of being here). I'm already happier just thinking about going home, and the fact that people are trying to get me to stay here is just pissing me off. Anyways, I'm done ranting and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. More to come!_


	19. Take me to your Leader: pt 1

Anna hovered over the stove in the galley. She was currently working on some hash browns to go with the waffles she was making. Duke was sitting at the table, reading the paper and sipping on his coffee.

Wildwing and Nosedive peeked around the corner. Wildwing had been on his way in when he had stopped, seeing the two ducks already awake. When Nosedive had come walking in, Wildwing stopped him.

"This is weird." Nosedive whispered to Wildwing.

"No kidding." Wildwing murmured. They weren't fighting, but they weren't speaking either. Usually, before whatever had happened to make the two fight, they'd be talking and laughing. Now, nothing. Anna pulled a plate down from the cupboard and placed a waffle along with a pile of hash browns on it.

"What's she doing?" Nosedive asked, eyeballing Wing. Wildwing stared wide-eyed as she placed the plate roughly in front of Duke. She turned back around without a word, grabbing a fork and putting it in his hand. Duke dropped his paper, looking surprised.

"Excuse me, sweetheart. What's this?" he asked.

"I think she's trying to start something." Wing said. With anybody else, this would be a peace offering. But he knew Anna had had many arguments with Duke about eating breakfast in the mornings, and he knew the ex-thief refused.

"It's called breakfast. You should try some every once in a while." She spat, turning the knob on the stove down low. She was keeping the hash browns warm for when the rest of the ducks woke up.

Dive shot a look at Wildwing. Wildwing shook his head.

"I appreciate it, but…" Duke shoved the plate away from him, "no thanks." He muttered, picking his paper back up and taking a sip of his coffee. Anna glared at him. Obviously, whatever was going on between them wasn't done like Wildwing had hoped.

Back a couple of weeks ago, after that business with Asteroth, he had benched them from missions. But, on the way back to the pond, Duke and Anna had had a decent conversation making Wildwing think they were done arguing. So, as quickly as they had been benched, he de-benched them.

"I made you breakfast, L'Orange. So… eat it." She ordered, shoving the plate back where it had been. Duke heaved a sigh, setting the paper down.

"You see, there you go with that _L'Orange_ thing again. I hate that shit." He muttered, standing up from the table.

"What would you rather be called? Jackass? Shit for brains? I can do either or." She offered through a glare. He walked up to her.

"What is your deal with me?" he asked, sincerely but angrily.

"What, I cook you a wholesome breakfast and you don't eat it? That's insulting!" she snapped.

"Enough with the breakfast bullshit, Anna! What's your REAL deal with me!" he pushed.

"When I go out with somebody, it is NOT your job to worry about it!" she finally snapped.

"I already told you! I don't know him; therefore, I don't trust him!" he said.

"And when was it up to you? It's my boyfriend, so I'll decide if he's trustworthy!" she snapped.

"And what if he ends up being bad news?" he tried.

"He's not! We've been going out for a couple of a months now!" she insisted.

"So? Takes longer than a couple of months to get to know somebody. You were dating Trent for how long? And you still didn't know him." He threw at her.

Nosedive's jaw dropped as he glanced back at his brother. Wildwing pressed his finger to his beak, showing Dive to keep quiet. He was curious where this was going. Maybe if he let them attack each other, they'd work it out themselves.

"No. You're not going to use my past relationships against me." Her voice was low and scary.

"Okay, let's try another approach. Dragaunus finds out about him and kidnaps him. Then what?" Duke theorized.

"That's not going to happen." She insisted.

"You can't know that, Anna! What are you going to do? Watch him 24/7?" he asked.

"Maybe I will! Maybe he'll move in here for safe keeping!" she threatened.

"Wildwing would never let somebody just randomly move in here." Duke muttered, rolling his eye.

"Jess moved in." she challenged.

"yes, but you knew her since kindergarten." Duke had an answer. Anna rolled her eyes.

"Guess I'll just have to move in with Oliver." She decided, crossing her arms. Duke's eyes widened at this. He took a step back.

"You don't mean that." He nearly whispered it.

 _She better not mean it._ Wildwing instantly thought.

"Maybe I do! At least living with Oliver, I won't have to deal with this type of bullshit day in and day out!" she snapped at Duke.

"Sweetheart, I already told you-"

"You don't trust him! Well guess what, Duke. It's my god damn life! So, butt out!" she growled.

"Anna…" he trailed off. She had the opportunity to ignore him, but didn't as she met his gaze, "you want to know the truth?" he asked. She looked taken aback before nodding.

"Duke, all I ever want is for you to be honest with me." She tried, seeming to calm down. He stepped forward again.

"Anna, I…" he trailed off. Why couldn't he say it? He wanted to. He wanted to so bad. Let her know what she meant to him. Scoop her up in his arms. Hold her close and never let go. He sighed out, changing his words mid-sentence, "I don't want to see you get hurt again." He finally settled on. She looked away before looking back up at him again. Did he see disappointment in her eyes?

"Duke, I…" it was her turn to trail off. What was she trying to say? She knew what was tugging at her lips, but the words wouldn't come. She put a hand on his cheek. She felt it. She felt that warm connection she always felt with him. That would never change no matter how much they fought. She could have kissed him so easily but instead fell into his chest in a hug.

"Anna, you've gotta remember. I was there for Trent's bullshit. I was there during the Christmas party and I was there when the low-life cheated on ya." He reminded her, rubbing her hair. She leaned deeper into him.

"Look," he said, leaning her out to meet her gaze. "I know I've been a little… overbearing." He said, "I just didn't want this guy to end up being like Trent." He revealed.

"I… why didn't you just say that?" she asked.

 _Because I love you and I don't want you with him_. He knew why he hadn't said that. Because he had had a one night stand the night she met Oliver. How would she have taken him seriously had he revealed his true feelings for her. Hell, could he take himself seriously at this point?

"Because I knew you were excited about the guy, and I didn't want to shoot down your potential happiness." He finally decided, hoping she'd believe that much. She shrugged, nodding.

"I appreciate the concern, but…"

"I know, I know. Butt out." He said, putting his hand up in defeat. He sighed out. "From now on, I won't bug ya about going out with the kid." He promised.

"thanks Duke." She said, hugging him again.

Wildwing cleared his throat as he and Dive walked in. Anna and Duke practically jumped away from each other.

"I'm guessing breakfast is ready?" Wildwing asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Anna seemed to remember what she was doing as she turned back to the stove. Duke walked back over to his seat, grabbing his paper. He peered over it to see Nosedive sitting across from him, staring at the plate of food. Duke chuckled, sliding the plate towards Nosedive.

"Thanks Duke! You're the best!" Nosedive praised, grabbing the syrup and drowning his waffles.

Wildwing sat down next to his little brother as Anna sat a plate in front of him. He smiled at her in thanks before digging into the breakfast. It wasn't too long later until the other ducks joined them.

* * *

Later that day found Wildwing, Tanya, Anna and Duke walking towards the Rec Room.

"How many times have we spotted the raptor this month?" Wildwing wondered out loud, directing the question at Tanya.

"Uh, none." She said, glancing at her clipboard.

"How many times have we engaged Dragaunus?" he asked.

"yeah uh, none." Tanya murmured.

"And how many times have we actually gotten close to capturing him?" he asked again.

"Uh, yeah… none." She was reluctant with all her answers.

"I wish I had been pulled into that dimensional limbo instead of Canard. If he were still leader, we'd be back on Puckworld right now." Wildwing muttered.

"Hey, Canard knew what he was doing when he gave you the mask Wildwing!" Duke put in, not wanting to see his leader get down on himself.

"My brother wouldn't have given the mask to just anybody." Anna put in.

At about that moment, the screen on Drake 1 fizzed, showing a video image of a light brown feathered duck.

"Can anyone hear me?" Anna's jaw dropped.

"Canard?" she asked, running over to the console. Wildwing was right behind her.

"Canard, it's your sister!" she said after pressing the buttons to turn on her video camera and her mic.

"Where are you?" Wildwing asked behind her.

"In the mountains! I came out of dimensional limbo! Hurry!" as quickly as the video had come, it disappeared.

"Canard?" Wildwing asked.

"Canard!" Anna yelled at the screen. Her head was spinning. How did her brother get out of dimensional limbo?

"Was it really him?" Anna turned to see Mallory, Grin, Jess and Nosedive had walked in while she'd been busy with Drake 1. "Did you scan him with the mask?" Mallory pushed.

"No." Wildwing murmured, "it was only a video image. But, Canard was wearing his wrist com when we lost him." He offered.

"And our coms have homing signals!" Duke remembered. Wildwing opened his com, setting it to trace Canard's location.

"He's in the mountains. Let's move!"

* * *

It didn't take long for the ducks to take off in the aerowing. There was a certain excitement yet worry that was spread out over the ducks. Finally, once they had almost reached the GPS location of Canard's com, Nosedive spoke his worries.

"I don't know, ducks. Smells like a trap." Nosedive tried.

"That's my best friend out there." Wildwing shot back at his baby brother.

"And besides, if it wasn't him, how would we be able to trace his com?" Anna said confidently. Nosedive shrugged, sitting back in his chair.

"Prepare to land." Wildwing announced, tilting the aerowing down.

They landed in a clearing next to the mountains. There was a swinging bridge that led into a hiking trail in the mountains. That was where they would start. As they reached the center of the bridge, a voice called out to them.

"Anna! Wildwing! Over here!" they all turned to see Canard hanging off a ledge, barely hanging on.

"Canard!" Anna called, moving to run off the bridge.

"I love you guys. You're such," he shifted mid-sentence, revealing himself to be the chameleon. "suckers!"

Anna stopped mid-run, seeing his blaster was aimed at her. She jumped back, barely getting out of the way in time. The bridge broke apart and they all began to fall.

"Hang on, everyone!" Duke shouted, pulling out his saber and pressing a button on the side. The blade shot out, sticking in the side of the mountain. He hung on to the handle, reaching down and grabbing Anna's hand. Anna grabbed onto Tanya, who grabbed Nosedive. Nosedive barely grabbed onto Jess's hand in time as Jess grabbed onto Mallory. Mallory reached for Wildwing while Wildwing grabbed onto Grin. The ducks made a chain as they swung around, smacking into the canyon wall. Everyone grunted as they fell down to the canyon below.

"Everyone ok?" Anna asked, getting up and looking around.

"I'm good." Duke partly groaned, getting to his feet. Everyone slowly but surely stood up, and Anna was surprised nobody had suffered a bad injury. Especially Jess. She seemed to have the weak ankles.

They heard engines up above and heard some sort of vehicle take off.

"Come on, we gotta get back up there." Wildwing ordered.

It took a few minutes, but the ducks finally reached the cliff.

"Oh great, they've stolen the aerowing." Duke muttered, stating the obvious.

"Oh perfect." Wildwing muttered, getting a drake 1 alert through his com. The location of the aerowing appeared on his screen.

"Come on. We'll have to track them on our jet blades." He murmured.

It seemed to take forever, and as they all raced in silence, Anna couldn't help but be bothered by something: if Canard was wearing his wrist com when he was lost to dimensional limbo, then how were they able to set a GPS location and get right to where Chameleon was?

* * *

They came up on the aerowing and saw Siege and the chameleon approaching it.

"Alright, time for another joyride in our new wings." They heard Siege say.

"Your flights been canceled, creeps!" Wildwing said as the ducks all opened fire on the saurians. Seeing they were outmatched, it didn't take long for Chameleon and Siege to flee the scene. Wildwing turned back to the group.

"Come on. I've put you guys in enough danger for one day." He murmured, leading the ducks back onto the aerowing.

Once back at the pond, everyone sat around, assuming Wildwing was going to come up with a plan to try to track Dragaunus. Instead, he took the mask off, revealing a distraught face.

"Wildwing?" Anna asked.

"Canard gave the mask to the wrong duck." He muttered, setting it down on the console. "anyone of you could do a better job of leading us." He powered down from his armor back into his street clothes. "I quit." He didn't meet anyone's gaze as he walked out.

"Big bro! You can't walk out on us man!" Nosedive said, looking like he'd move after Wildwing.

"Let him go, Nosedive. We can't tell him what to do." Duke tried. His words stopped Anna in her steps as well. Duke had a point. Wildwing was his own person. He had to figure this out for himself. That still didn't stop her from wanting to give him a pep talk.

She turned back around, figuring if she couldn't talk to Wildwing at the moment, she might as well do something somewhat productive.

"Tanya." She addressed the team tech. "We have cameras running on the aerowing, right?" Tanya cocked her head at Anna but nodded.

"Uh, yeah. Two in the front, one behind, and one from the side door. Why?" she asked.

"Can you pull up the video feed from September 6th?" she asked. Tanya's eyes widened at this request. Duke recognized the date as well while Nosedive scratched his head.

"What's so important about September 6th? That was like…" they watched as Nosedive counted on his fingers, "that was like…" he glanced at the rest of them.

"You can do it, Dive. Today is February 2nd." Jess tried.

"Ah ha!" Almost 6 months ago!" Nosedive said proudly.

"Uh, that would be 5 months, Nosedive." Tanya corrected.

"Seems like it's been longer." Anna murmured.

"What do you need that tape for?" Tanya asked.

"I just need to check something. Can you get it or not?" Anna pressed. Tanya sighed out, nodding.

"I can get it." Tanya murmured, walking off towards Drake 1. Anna followed her, the rest of the ducks finally meandering that way as well.

* * *

Wildwing walked out of the pond.

"What am I doing? Maybe I shouldn't be leader, but I can't quit the team." He turned around to go back inside when he nearly bumped into two aliens. Before he knew it, a collar was wrapped around his neck and his body was hovering off the ground.

* * *

"I don't believe it. Wildwing walked out on us." Nosedive muttered. Mallory was holding the mask in her lap when Phil ran in.

"He must learn where his true karma lies." Grin stated.

"What about the team?" Phil asked. "You can't play hockey with only five ducks!" He exclaimed.

"Hey. Sitting right here." Jess sounded offended.

"Yeah, but you're not a goalie." Nosedive tried.

"No, but I can give it my best shot." She said.

"Yeah but, you don't have a big enough frame. Those pucks will fly right past ya." Duke said simply.

"What about Grin? He could give the goalie position a shot." Mallory said, patting him on the shoulder.

"For the noble sport of hockey, I will do my best." He stated calmly, seeming to agree with their statement.

"Well figure it out. If Grin can't stop the pucks like Wildwing can, our franchise will fail! You know how much money I'll lose!" Phil exclaimed, walking back out towards the elevator.

"He's so thoughtful of other people." Anna muttered, having turned from the screen before scooting her chair back and tapping furiously at the keyboard.

"You find what you're looking for sweetheart?" Duke asked.

He walked over, seeing a view of the side door on the aerowing. He could see Wildwing holding onto the side of the aerowing and Canard. Grin's arm was sticking out of the door, holding onto Wildwing. There was no sound, but he didn't need it to know what Canard was saying to Wildwing.

He watched on the camera as Wildwing flew back inside with the mask and Canard was pulled off screen.

"Sweetheart, why are you watching this?" he asked.

"Shush." She said, rewinding the video and playing it frame by frame.

"Anna?" he tried again. Their coms beeped, signaling it was time for practice.

"Go to practice. I'll be down soon." She promised, still tapping buttons. He shook his head. At least she didn't seem upset by today's little mishap with the chameleon, but he still couldn't figure out why she was so interested in this video.


	20. Take me to your leader: pt 2

Practice started as Grin got into the goal. Without Anna or Wildwing there, they didn't have much guidance, but figured she'd want them to start out by testing Grin's reflexes.

They turned out to be a little slower than Wildwing's, but his body was so big only a couple pucks were able to fly past him.

"Not bad, Grin. Not bad." Duke praised.

"That'll put Jess on defense." Nosedive said, turning around to the girl.

"Why can't you be defense? I'm always right winger!" she challenged.

"Well then take it up with Mallory!" Nosedive cringed away from her, "she's right winger."

Jess turned around to the redhead who glared at her.

"Not a chance, kid. This is my position." The redhead growled. Jess glared, skating over.

"Who said?" she challenged. Mallory dropped her hockey stick and pulled her sleeves up.

"Alright! Break it up!" Anna suddenly appeared, jumping out onto the ice, sliding over the best she could on street shoes.

"I'm not a damn referee, I'm your coach. And we don't play hockey like the humans do, so break it up!" she said, shoving Jess away while Duke held onto Mallory's arm.

"This isn't fair, Anna. Both of us are Right wingers. Neither one of us is better than the other." Jess challenged. Anna grinned.

"Looks like we're just going to have to find out." Anna said.

"What?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. Everyone clear the ice, except for Jess and Mallory. They're going to play for the position of right winger." She said slyly.

"Anna, I'm not playing to keep MY position." Mallory growled.

"Alright, if you want, I'LL play left defense men and you and Jess can switch on and off as right wingers. Everyone gets to play, although you and Jess will have less playing time then everyone else." Anna said, knowing she had the redhead. Mallory groaned.

"I've got no problem with not playing. I'm the coach. But I sense you have a problem with that." Anna was being a smart ass now, and Mallory hated it.

"Fine." She grumbled, skating out to the middle of the rink. Jess followed suit.

"But Wildwing would never make us do this!" Mallory shot back.

"Yeah, well, Wildwing isn't here." Anna grinned, handing the puck to Nosedive.

"Go drop the puck for them, will ya? I don't have my skates on." She said casually before crawling back over into the box. Nosedive sighed out, not sure how far Anna would be able to push the redhead. As the puck dropped, Anna pushed a button on her com. She had it set up, so it connected to the jumbo-tron and a timer appeared, counting down from ten minutes.

"Anna?" Duke grabbed part of her attention as she watched the girls fight for the puck.

"yeah?" she asked, not making full eye contact with him.

"What were you looking for? On the video?" he asked, "what did you find?"

"Exactly what I was looking for." She said briefly, watching Jess slide behind Mallory's goal. She took a shot, but Mallory somehow jumped in front, blocking the shot.

"Nosedive, set 'em back up." She ordered. Nosedive did as he was told, skating over and taking the puck from Mallory to get them set back up to have another try at it. One on one was hard in hockey.

"Which was?" Duke pried.

"he was wearing his com." She said simply. Mallory skated past Jess and aimed for the goal. She was just wide and cursed as she skated back around, seeing Jess go after it.

"So, I thought we'd already established that." He muttered.

"So how did the chameleon get it?" she wondered out loud.

"he faked us out, sweetheart. He called us on his own communicator." He tried to reason with her.

"Oh really? Then how come we were able to latch on so perfectly to Canard's communicator?" she asked as the buzzer sounded. She glanced over, seeing Jess had scored the first goal. Nosedive didn't have to be told. He skated out, grabbing the puck and bringing it back to the center, dropping it for the girls yet again.

Duke looked stumped.

"He must have dropped it when we were fighting the lizards back in Dragaunus' headquarters." He tried.

"That's what I thought at first too. And that's why I wanted the surveillance feed from the aerowing."

"Wait a second." He suddenly realized what she'd been telling him, and almost slapped his forehead for not getting it right away.

"His com was on his wrist up until he was sucked into the electromagnetic worm." She confirmed.

"But that's impossible. How would they have his com, unless…" he was cut off as a buzzer sounded. They both looked up to see Mallory had scored a goal.

* * *

"Now to put this no-good earthling to work!" one of the aliens spat as Wildwing floated into their ship behind them.

"Get busy installing that replacement guidance system!" the one called Zork ordered, handing Wildwing a tool.

"Can't you do it yourself?" he asked with a snarky tone.

"And get our hands dirty? I should think not!" the calmer one, Flork, said.

"Besides, you blasted it. You fix it!" Zork added.

"I didn't fire on your ship!" Wildwing argued before realization came to him, "it must have been Dragaunus' goons." He offered.

"Oh, a wise guy ay!" Zork didn't believe him, "why I oughta…" he activated the remote that controlled the collar around Wildwing's neck. He pressed the button sending a shock through Wildwing's body.

"Now get to work!" Zork ordered.

"Alright, I'm working! I'm working!" Wildwing obeyed, turning around and opening the crate.

"Must you always resort to brute force?" Flork asked.

"I suppose I shoulda said pretty please?" Zork asked sarcastically.

"It never hurts to be polite." Flork said simply.

Wildwing pulled the guidance system out of the crate.

"Listen." He said, "Dragaunus shot down your ship for a reason. We've gotta stop him." Wildwing tried.

"We can't get involved!" Flork stated, "we are watchers. An ancient and noble race who never get involved in the affairs of other species."

"Yeah, except for kidnapping me." Wildwing said sarcastically.

"eh, shut up." Zork muttered, pressing the button again. Wildwing cried out in pain as a shock once again went through his body.

"Zork, really! Go fabricate a replacement neutronium core. I'll keep an eye on our guest." Flork offered, holding out his hand for the remote.

"Make sure he doesn't get out of the compliance collar." Zork ordered, passing the remote over.

* * *

2 minutes remained on the clock, and both Mallory and Jess had scored three points each. Both girls glared at each other as Nosedive once again lined up to drop the puck. Before the puck could leave his hand, though, a ringing was heard from Tanya's com.

"Hey, we got a phone call." She announced, "I'll patch it through our coms." She announced, pressing a button.

"Did you birds bring some weird alien plant with you when you came here!" came the distressed voice from Captain Klegghorn, "There's giant vines everywhere! They're strangling the city! I'm holding you personally responsible for this one!"

Mallory sighed out as the line went dead.

"We can't start a mission without a leader." She said, glancing over at the mask that lay on the sidelines.

Nosedive cleared his throat. "I offer my services as main mallard."

They all gaped at him.

"I don't think so." Duke muttered.

"But I'm Wildwing's brother! I'm a legacy, aka I'm next in line for succession!"

"Uh, no. That would be the secretary of state." Tanya murmured.

"Anna." Duke said, skating over and grabbing the mask.

"What?" she looked surprised.

"Well sure, you were Canard's second in command back on Puckworld." He tried, holding it out to her.

"Maybe, but I've never actually been a leader." She muttered, shoving it back towards him. "You would make a fine leader."

"Me?" he asked suddenly.

"Him?" Mallory seemed just as surprised.

"Season professional, and he was a leader back on Puckworld." She said simply.

"Yeah, of a gang!" Mallory shot at Anna.

"But a leader none the less. I trust him." She said, smiling at Mallory's slight annoyance.

"Alright," Duke put the mask on, "let's deal with this problem."

* * *

The ducks pulled up on the scene, running out to see giant vines hugging onto the buildings throughout the city.

"you know, I've heard of the urban jungle but, this takes the puck!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"The only way to stop this thing is at its core." Tanya offered.

"I'm looking into the matter, sweetheart." Duke said, activating the mask.

"It's growing out of the park." He informed once he found the information.

"Alright, we'll attack its core." He said simply.

"Are you kidding?" Nosedive exclaimed, "we're going to need a weed muncher the size of Cleveland!"

"So, what's the plan?" Mallory asked, looking to Duke for guidance.

"Simple." Duke drew his sword, holding it up in the air, "all for one, and one for all!" he said before running forward.

"Really?" Anna asked, cocking her head.

"That's not a plan," Tanya agreed with Anna, "it's a slogan!"

It didn't take long for the plant's vines to wrap around Duke's legs, pulling him up. He dropped his saber.

"Duke!" Anna yelled, running forward. She picked up the sword where it had landed and deactivated it.

"Sorry team! Looks like I let you down!" he said, taking off the mask and throwing it towards them. Anna caught it, sticking his saber on her belt. She ran back to the team.

"How he ever was a leader of a gang is beyond me." Mallory muttered.

"He's always the one coming up with the great plans when Wildwing's around. Wildwing disappears and all of a sudden his plans suck?" Anna questioned, handing the mask back to Mallory.

"The only way to save him is to destroy that plant!" Mallory said.

"But we need a guiding light." Grin knew the issue was they still didn't have a leader. Mallory turned, walking over to where Tanya and Nosedive stood.

"Glad you've finally come to your senses." Nosedive said.

"Negative, Nosedive." She said, handing the mask to Tanya, "we need our top tech on this one."

"Oh, well okay." Tanya seemed surprised, "I'll just, you know, try it on for size." She put the mask on over her glasses. "First I've gotta analyze what this thing's made of." She said, activating the mask.

"It's not used to the nitrogen rich atmosphere of the earth. That's why it's growing so fast." She explained. "If we can inject a nitrogen blocking compound into the core of that plant, it's gonna wither up like that!" she added, almost excitedly. The ducks all headed back into the migrator.

"Let's see, cola. Diet cola. Ah, here we are nitrogen blocker." Tanya said, grabbing the vile.

"Remind me again why we keep the nitrogen blocker next to the beverages?" Jess asked.

Anna shrugged, jumping into the passenger seat.

Nosedive went to drive but nothing was happening.

"Um, Nosedive, get us out of here." Anna tried.

"Girlfriend, I hate to break it to you but… I can't!" he said as the migrator suddenly twisted around.

"Let me think, let me think." Tanya activated the mask, trying to see where the plant had a hold of them. She started muttering formulas to herself, trying to figure out the best way to get loose from the plant.

"Now, Tanya! While we're young!" Nosedive said as the migrator flipped upside down.

"That does it, I don't wanna be a leader anymore!" she gave up, ripping the mask off and tossing it back to Mallory.

"To the duck cycles!" Anna ordered. Everyone unbuckled, making their way to the back of the migrator.

The duck cycles escaped just as the plant swallowed the migrator up.

* * *

Wildwing screwed the last bolt into the guidance system. _I've gotta get these nutballs distracted_. He thought to himself, glancing back at the aliens.

"The neutronium core's replaced." Zork announced, walking back.

"What shall we do with the alien?" Flork asked.

"I say we jettison him into deep space." Zork suggested.

"Oh yeah, that would be a lot of fun. But incredibly brutal." Wildwing urged.

"Quite so! I detest physical violence!" Flork agreed with Wildwing.

"Well that's truly noble of you Flork." Wildwing said, giving him a thumbs up. He then turned his attention to the other alien, "you gonna let him push you around like that Zork?"

"He's extra baggage! I say we jettison him!" Zork argued.

"You brute!"

"You wimp!"

And just like that, Wildwing had his distraction.

* * *

"Here we go." Tanya was walking into the rec room with a huge syringe looking thing. "we can deploy it from the aerowing's missile launcher."

"So, who's going to be the leader this time?" Nosedive asked, crossing his arms. Mallory glanced at Anna, but Anna seemed to shrink away.

"I am." She said, stepping up to the task.

"Grin, you and Jess flank us." She said, pointing.

"Tanya, you and Anna will fall back and recon at the perimeter."

"You wanna say that in English?" Nosedive asked, his arms crossed as he chuckled a bit.

"Can't you follow simple orders?" she shoved her finger into his chest, glaring at him.

At that moment, vines pushed through the elevator.

"Uh, guys?" Tanya warned, "It's taking over our headquarters!"

"Alright, we'll blast it with pucks!" Mallory ordered, firing the first shot. A vine wrapped around Nosedive, pulling him away.

"Forget pucks! We're going to need lawn-be-gone!" he exclaimed.

"We gotta try something!" Tanya stressed, backing away with the nitrogen blocker in hand.

Grin ripped the vines in half that threatened to close around him. "I hear plants like soothing music." He offered.

The vine that held Nosedive slammed him against the wall.

"I'd say this guy's more of a headbanger." He said as Grin walked over, snapping the vines.

Mallory blasted the elevator door, taking out the vines that blocked their way out.

"To the aerowing! Fall out!" she ordered, taking off after them.

A vine snuck past her, grabbing her ankle. She cried out, realizing she'd been grabbed. The others looked back.

"Take it!" she yelled, throwing the mask before getting carried off by the vine.

Tanya caught the mask, ushering the rest of them out of the rec room.

* * *

"We are watchers! We do not go around destroying innocent life forms!" Flork argued.

"Innocent? He shot us down!" Zork shot back.

"We must free him!"

"Dump him!"

"Oh boys?" Wildwing stood up holding the broken compliance collar. "It's time you listened to reason." He tried.

"Don't get fresh with me, feather lips!" Zork snapped, taking the remote from Flork and hitting the button.

"Um, Zork?" Flork noticed, "he's not wearing the compliance collar."

Wildwing activated his armor and fired a warning puck over Flork and Zork's heads.

"You're going to start taking orders from me now!" he snapped.

* * *

"It's time this team had some real leadership for a change!" Nosedive offered.

"You're absolutely right." Tanya said, walking past him and handing the mask to Anna.

"Oh, come on!" Nosedive slapped his face in defeat.

Anna glanced around at the ducks in front of her.

"shit." She muttered, putting the mask on.

"Alright, everybody load up. Tanya, insert that thing into a missile. Nosedive, you're pilot." She ordered as everyone entered the aerowing.

The aerowing took off, flying towards the park.

"Don't get too close." Anna warned as the aerowing approached the park.

"Relax, I just need a clear shot." Nosedive tried.

"You're getting too low." Anna muttered, knowing he wouldn't listen to her.

"No I'm not… 3… 2…" he started counting down, "One nosedive sandwich coming up!" he fired the missile right as a vine reached up, grabbing the aerowing out of the sky. The missile fell a few feet in front of the aerowing as the aerowing crashed into the ground.

The ducks exited the aerowing as Anna ran over, grabbing the nitrogen blocker.

"What now?" Nosedive asked.

"you crash the aerowing, and then have the gull to ask me what now?" Anna snapped, glaring at him. "Ugh, nevermind!" she glanced around, trying to find an in on the plant's core. Nothing. The only way was to… run as fast as they could to the plant's core and hope the vines didn't catch them.

"You guys aren't going to like this plan…" Anna muttered, meeting Tanya's gaze.

"We gonna make a run for it?" nosedive asked with excitement in his voice.

"We'll never make it…" Tanya trailed off, fear in her eyes.

"Relax! I can make it!" Nosedive promised, grabbing the nitrogen blocker from Anna. He instantly took off running.

"We better follow him." Anna muttered, encouraging Grin and Tanya to take off after him. This is why Wildwing was the leader. At least Nosedive respected him.

* * *

"If Dragaunus took your ship's power core, he's going to use it to recharge the raptor." Wildwing explained to the aliens.

"Must you carry on like this?" Flork asked, "the saurian overlords were vanquished centuries ago!"

"Oh yeah?" Wildwing asked, "well then turn on your surveillance screen." He ordered.

"Very well. But you're only fooling yourself!" Flork said, switching the nob on. On the screen, they saw the raptor rising up into the air.

"You were saying?" Wildwing asked as obvious shock appeared on the aliens faces. "Now get this ship in the air!" he ordered.

"But, we are watchers!" Flork insisted, "we do not get involved!"

"Well you're getting involved now! Whether you like it, or not."

* * *

"There's the plant's core!" Nosedive announced as the five ducks reached the center of the park.

"Yeah, and there's the guys!" Tanya said, pointing to Duke and Mallory who were wrapped up in vines.

"Get them free!" Nosedive ordered, and Anna snapped her head at him as he raced towards a vine to climb up to Duke.

"No, Nosedive! The weed killer!" she shouted, realizing he didn't have his priorities straight.

"Tentacles coming your way!" Duke warned as the vines closed around Nosedive and Tanya first. Grin fought off as many as he could until they had overcome him as well. The weed killer fell, and Anna ran for it, but the plant seemed to be smart, sending a vine to block her from getting it.

"Shit!" she growled as the weed picked her and Jess up next. The weed killer lay, just feet away from where it could do some good.

"Why is it cocooning us? I don't get it…" Tanya muttered, looking around at her fellow ducks. Suddenly, a vine popped up with a bloom that almost resembled that of a venus fly trap. It actually let out a roar as it turned towards the ducks.

"Oh… now I get it." She sighed out, not liking the answer to her previous question.


	21. Take me to your leader: pt 3

_So I've gone through a lot of life changes recently... long story short, since I kind of fell off the face of the earth there for a while, I figured I'd give you guys two chapters this Friday and then hopefully, I'll start updating regularly every Friday again. I am, however, currently looking for a place to live so my life changes aren't quite over yet. So if I randomly disappear again, it could be that I'm finally moving in somewhere and life is just happening. Either way, thanks for sticking with me on this and I hope you enjoy!_

Nosedive struggled against the vines that held him.

"Oh man! This is the first time a salad ever tried to eat me!" he exclaimed.

"Well at least things can't get any worse, right?" he tried, glancing at Anna with a look of defeat.

"You're about to get eaten by a plant…" Anna muttered sarcastically.

Suddenly, a flash of green light appeared on one of the vines before it was revealed to be Siege.

"Give me the mask!" Siege growled, going toward Anna.

"Fuck off!" she hissed at him.

"Feisty!" he chuckled, "but I'm gonna get it anyway!" he said, approaching her.

She wiggled a hand free, pulling the mask off her beak.

"I'd sooner give it to the plant!" she growled, throwing the mask as high and far as she could. Siege jumped for it but missed completely, falling off the vine and hitting the ground.

A ship flew overhead, and just as it circled back, they all saw Wildwing come flying in. He grabbed the mask midair and hit the ground a few feet from Siege.

"That's one way to make an entrance." Anna muttered from her spot.

"Give me the mask!" Siege barked, firing at Wildwing. Wildwing blocked the shots, firing back at Siege, knocking him over. Siege knew he wouldn't be able to take him and teleported back to the raptor.

"Hey, Wildwing! The weed killer!" Duke yelled from his spot.

"Got it!" Wildwing said, picking up the nitrogen blocker and sticking it into the core of the plant. As immediately as Tanya had said it would, the plant turned brown and withered away, leaving only mushy vines and dead blossoms everywhere.

"Where ya been! Big bro!" Nosedive demanded, running up and hugging his brother under one arm.

"Yeah, we thought you walked out on us." Mallory added.

"Nah, just got a little side tracked." He said, glancing over at the ship that had dropped him off. It was now landing in the park and the ducks were all surprised to see two peculiar looking aliens exit the ship.

"Guys, meet Flork and Zork." Wildwing introduced as they walked over to the core of the plant. Flork opened the dead roots to find his tiny plant still intact.

"My alterion creeper!" he said happily, putting it back in its case.

"Don't tell me you're responsible for all this!" Tanya said, motioning around to the dead vines.

"Oh no. They had a little help from Dragaunus." Wildwing informed, "who's flying over the city right now in the raptor."

"What?" Duke looked taken aback, "come on, we gotta stop him!"

"Relax!" before anyone could react, Zork was stopping them.

"It is our neutronium core." Flork added, "we made it. We can disable it." He explained as Zork pressed a button.

After confirming their neutronium core was completely useless to the lizards now, Flork and Zork prepared to leave.

"Well, I hope you two get involved now. Especially when it comes to fighting evil, like Dragaunus." Wildwing said.

"You better believe it!" Zork said.

"We shall be mere bystanders, no more!" Flork added as the aliens retreated to their ship. The ship took off and Wildwing turned back to his team.

"Let's go home." He said, a smile on his face.

As they turned to walk home, Anna reached onto her belt.

"Here, I think this belongs to you." She muttered, handing Duke his saber.

"Thanks sweetheart." He murmured, putting it back on his shoulder.

"You know, if you would have just taken the mask, I never would have lost it." He tried.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"You're a good leader, Anna!" he pushed.

"Yeah, well, I thought you were too. What was that _all for one, one for all_ crap?"

"I don't know… maybe I'm not as a good of a leader as you thought." He muttered.

"I could have told you that." Mallory shoved past, having heard that part of the conversation and shooting a glare in Duke's direction.

"You faked it." Anna realized, and Duke avoided her stare. The ducks rounded a corner, coming up on the migrator.

"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. You'll never know." He said, climbing into the vehicle.

"Ugh! Duke, that was so stupid!" she growled, running into the vehicle after him.

"What if that plant would have eaten you before we got to you!" she tried.

"I had faith. But I thought you were going to put the mask on since I tossed it to _you_." He tried. The others got into the migrator at that moment, causing the two to stop arguing for the time being.

Wildwing shot a look at Nosedive as he sat in the passenger seat. His brother started the migrator with no problems.

"What was that all about?" Wildwing muttered as Nosedive took off.

Wildwing had no idea what the ducks had been up to while he was MIA. He assumed Anna would take up the leader position, as she had been Canard's second in command, and he saw he must have been right since Anna was the one wearing the mask when he jumped out of Flork and Zork's ship. So, what were Anna and Duke arguing about this time?

* * *

The ducks walked into the locker room, dressing out for that night's game.

"Wildwing, you have no idea how good a leader you are." Mallory said.

"You know, I'll go one even further wing, you're a better leader than Canard ever was." Duke added.

Anna stopped in her tracks, but didn't say anything. He'd just insulted her brother, but at the same time she knew he didn't really mean anything by it. He was giving Wildwing the praise he deserved.

"You can lead us into ol' lizard's lips traps anytime you want bro." Nosedive added to the praise.

"Well that's really flattering, but uh…" Wildwing trailed off, glancing sideways at his brother.

"Guys, guys! Who won the Right wing toss up?" Phil asked, running in. "The announcers are asking for our roster!"

"What?" Wildwing asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, it's okay now, Phil. Jess doesn't have to play. Wildwing's back!" Tanya announced.

Jess seemed to lower her head at Tanya's words.

"Nobody won that matchup… did they?" Duke asked, glancing between Jess and Mallory.

"Uh, what did I miss?" Wildwing asked.

"Anna tried to give my position to Jessica!" Mallory suddenly tattled.

"Grin was going to be goalie. Both of you wanted the position, so it made sense to play for it." Anna tried to explain.

"Wildwing, would you please explain to Anna how barbaric that is!" Mallory snapped.

"Well don't worry about it, Mal! You can have your stupid position! Wildwing's back!" Jess snapped, stomping out the door.

"Actually, to tell you the truth, if I was faced with that dilemma, I probably would have done the same thing." He said, meeting Anna's gaze. "Good leadership." He praised.

"And speaking of, how was being leader for a day, Anna?" he asked, giving her an innocent smile.

"What?" she asked, "I was only leader for like five minutes." She muttered. Now it was Wildwing's turn to be surprised.

"But, you were Canard's second in command." He tried.

"And? You never said I was your second in command." She suddenly argued.

"I thought it was obvious." He said, looking taken aback.

"How would it have been obvious?" she asked.

"I let you take the lead on a lot of stuff, Anna. And you're the coach. Next to the Team Captain, the coach is just as important." He explained.

"Next time, you might want to make that a little clearer." She muttered, turning and walking away. Wildwing's eyebrows creased. "and if I'm going to be your second in command, make sure Nosedive develops maybe just a hint of respect for my orders!" with that last sentence, she disappeared into the elevator.

"Was it something I said?" Wildwing asked, looking back at the others.

"Nah. She's a little stressed. From what I could see, Nosedive wasn't really listening to her orders as she was giving them." Duke explained.

"Oh?" Wildwing asked, glancing over at Duke. "and what else?" he asked, seeing Duke had something more to say.

"And, I think she thinks Dragaunus has Canard prisoner."

* * *

Anna walked into the galley, seeing Jess sitting at the table, spoon in hand as she dug ice cream out of her dish.

"Ice cream's in the freezer." Jess muttered, not meeting Anna's gaze.

"I'm good for now." Anna said, sitting across from Jess.

"Do you wanna play?" she suddenly said.

"Not like it matters, anyways." Jess muttered, "Mallory won't share the position and Wildwing's back now."

"Yeah, well, with every other hockey team we've encountered, they actually do subs. We could do subs."

"Yeah, and Mallory would just be passive aggressive about me taking her playing time."

"Yeah, and Mallory will get over it." Anna pressed. Jess sighed, dropping the spoon in the dish.

"Anna, really. I'm good. I'm there if somebody gets hurt, and I can handle that. Who wants the weight of winning on their shoulders anyways?" Jess tried.

"You're sure? Because I won't put you in unless you ask me to." Anna pressed.

"I promise, Anna. I love practicing with the guys and I will continue to do that. But I can sit the games out. Promise."

Jess and Anna got into the coach's box right as the puck was dropped. Anna peeked behind her to see Oliver in his regular seat. He saw her glance at him and gave her a smile and a wave. She smiled and waved in return before turning her attention back to the game.

The ducks were doing great and at the end of the first period, the score was 2-0. The second period started and right off the bat, Nosedive got the puck, firing it at the goal. The puck bounced off the post and hit the boards.

The opponent was moving fast, racing Mallory towards the puck. Right as she got there, the opponent hit her in the back of her knees, knocking her forward onto the ice.

The ref blew the whistle as Anna jumped over the barrier, running out to where Mallory was laying. She looked to be in pain and Anna was asking her what hurt. The ref was trying to rush Anna, but she ignored him, focused on her player.

"I think he caught my left knee hard. It might have hyper-extended." Mallory tried to explain. Anna held out her arms, lifting Mallory's arm over her shoulder. The audience cheered as Anna helped Mallory skate over to the bench.

"Jess, get ready." Anna hissed, setting Mallory down on the bench.

"Oh shit!" Jess said, grabbing her helmet from the bench.

"Anna, we gotta get this game going again." The ref rushed. Anna glanced up to see it was Stanley.

"Stanley, you've gotta give me a moment."

"Anna, if Mallory's injured, she's injured. She needs a sub." Stanley pushed.

"Can I look at her knee? Please?" Anna tried.

"Put the sub in, then look at her knee while the sub is playing. The game must go on." Stanley rushed.

Jess nodded, pulling her gloves on.

"I've got this, Mal." She promised, skating out onto the ice but staying next to the box as she saw the rest of the team skating over.

"Mal!" Duke exclaimed, the rest were not too far behind him.

"You alright?" Wildwing asked.

Mallory grimaced as Anna pulled her left skate off.

"I'll be alright." Mallory said. The ducks all turned their attention back to the ice as the announcer's voice came over the speakers.

"For her debut, the ducks have Jessica Reese playing for them tonight! Let's see if she can live up to Mallory's name!"

With that, the game was back on.

Anna was preoccupied, checking Mallory's knee for swelling. Phil ran down, freaking out about profits but Anna ignored him.

"Mal, your knee isn't swollen or anything. I think you might have just got the wind knocked out of you." Anna tried, hoping it wasn't as bad as Mallory had made it look. Mallory looked calmly at Anna.

"Oh, I know." She said knowingly, watching the game on the ice.

The crowd cheered as Jess scored her first goal right as the second period ended.

She skated around as Nosedive, Duke and Tanya were the first to get to her, hugging around her.

"You realize how bad of a penalty you could get for this!" Anna snapped, realizing Mallory had faked an injury to let Jess play. Mallory shrugged.

"Eh, felt like I could use a break." She murmured, flashing a cocky grin at Anna as the ducks raced back to head to the locker room for a break.

As the ducks met up in the locker room, Wildwing was the first to meet Mallory.

"Are you alright? Is your knee ok?" he asked, sounding like he might ask more questions.

"Trust me. She's fine!" Anna snapped, shoving past them. Mallory smiled at the weird look that crossed Wildwing's face.

"How was it, Jess?" Mallory asked, looking past him to look at the teenager.

"It was awesome, Mal! Although, I hope you're feeling better." Jess tried to downplay her excitement, knowing she only got to play in the first place because of Mal's injury. Mallory grinned.

"I said she's fine." Anna tried a little louder. "Mallory risked a penalty to let Jessica play." She muttered. The team all seemed to stare at Mallory.

"what, I knew she wanted to play." She tried.

"Well then you talk to me, the coach, and her about it! You don't go off faking injuries and risking penalties!" Anna snapped.

Mallory suddenly looked angry. "What, I can't even do a favor for a member of my own team?" she asked suddenly.

"Favors are fine, but we don't give away powerplays!" Anna snapped.

"And we didn't!" Mallory shot back.

"Guys! Now isn't the time! We've got another period to go!" Wildwing tried.

"Mallory, are you going back in?" Jess asked.

"If you're done, I can go back out. Let them know it must have just been the wind getting knocked out of me." Mallory tried.

"It's totally up to you. I'm having fun, but it is your position." Jess tried.

"Go have fun, kid. I'll play the next game." Mallory said. Jess smiled.

"Thanks, Mal!" she said, hugging the red head. Mallory was shocked by the physical contact, and awkwardly returned it with a one armed squeeze.

"Are you all not getting we could have been penalized?" Anna snapped.

"Anna, chill!" Duke tried.

"Duke's right, Anna. It was stupid…" Wildwing shot a hard look towards Mallory, "but the play is over and done with and we avoided the penalty." He said.

* * *

Anna stared out at the ice, watching as the ducks played hard. They were all doing great, even Jessica in her debut. The press would eat her alive after the game, but Anna had a feeling Jess would be just fine. She'd send Wildwing with her if she was completely nervous.

She heard Mallory's throat clear behind her. She looked at the redhead, and then quickly looked back at the ice.

"Anna, can we talk?" Mallory tried.

"I'm coaching." Anna said coldly.

"Oh please, Anna! It's the third period and we're 3 ahead. What could possibly happen?" Mallory asked.

"A coach never knows. A coach can only be prepared." Anna muttered.

"Have you been talking to Grin again?" Mallory asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He's my teammate. Of course, I talk to him." She replied simply.

"Anna…" Mallory drew out. Anna sighed before finally turning back towards the red head. "can I apologize?" she asked once she had Anna's attention.

Anna was shocked. _Mallory? Apologizing? Admitting she was in the wrong? Who would have thought such a thing?_

"for what?" Anna asked.

"for risking a penalty." She murmured, glancing down. "I just… I didn't want to give my position to Jess so willingly."

"You're too proud." Anna stated simply. Mallory nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah. I know now. I know I should have just talked to you guys." She admitted.

"Mallory. You're forgiven. Just, next time wait for a time out and then let her play." Anna tried.

"Yeah, alright." Mallory smiled. "You know, Anna. You're a pretty good coach."

"You're only saying that because I just forgave you." Anna muttered.

"No, I'm serious. Back on Puckworld, when Canard said you were going to be his second in command, I don't know if you remember…"

"I remember, Mal." Anna said curtly. Mallory had stood up, calling Canard out on picking family over skill.

"I didn't know you then, Anna. But now? I see why you were his second in command. And why you're Wildwing's second in command. I think Duke was right, as much as it pains me to say so." She met Anna's gaze, "if you would have just taken the mask to begin with, we probably wouldn't have gotten captured by that stupid plant."

"Thanks Mal. That does mean a lot coming from you." Anna said with a smile. At that moment, the final buzzer sounded and the ducks had won the game.

Excitement electrified the air as the ducks met in the circle, hugging around each other. Wildwing skated over, shaking hands with the captain of the other team. Mallory stood up, moving towards the locker room.

"You coming?" she asked, turning back to Anna. Anna glanced up at the bleachers.

"I'll be there in a minute." She promised, moving out the other side of the box to get up to the bleachers. A lot of people had cleared, so Oliver was the only one still in the section aside from a few stragglers.

"Hey." He said, pulling her into his arms in a hug.

"Hey yourself." She murmured.

"I saw that plant shit on the news." He informed her.

"What about it?" she asked, a hostile tone leaking into her voice.

He sighed, glancing away from her. "I just get worried. I don't like seeing that crap on TV. I've been dealing with that kind of stuff for a few months now. And I act like I'm ok with it, but it just bothers me that the only time I get to hear about my girlfriend is when she's in possible peril, and it's via the news."

"I'm sorry, Oliver." She tried, "but you know sometimes we get alerts on a whim, and we have to rush out. I can't just call you before every mission, especially if we're in a rush." She tried to explain.

"I know that, I just wish I didn't have to find out with everybody else in town. I mean, I didn't know you'd gone to another dimension until a couple of days had passed and even then, it took you forever to tell me about the building crashing down on you."

"I didn't want you to worry." She tried, not meeting his gaze.

"You didn't want me to worry? I found out about the damn building crashing on top of you when I hugged you and I put you in physical pain!" he shot at her.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not good at confiding, I guess." She tried. His gaze softened as he tilted her chin to look at him.

"I'm sorry too. It's not fair of me to demand all this of you. I just worry. I know we haven't been together that long, and that there are things we haven't really told each other about ourselves yet. I just, I don't know, I'm already pretty fond of ya." He smiled. She smiled back, and leaned up, pecking his cheek.

"I'm fond of you too, Oliver. What do you say we go grab some dinner? Maybe I'll confide in you a little bit over some spaghetti at Tony's." she offered. He smiled at her.

"Spaghetti from Tony's sounds great." He said. They fell into step, walking towards the exit and Oliver wrapped his arm around her shoulders. As they exited the building, Anna's com beeped.

"Anna, where are you?" Wildwing asked when she opened the com.

"Oliver and I are heading out for some dinner." She explained. "don't wait up."

"Alright. Be careful." Wildwing said.

"Aren't I always?" she asked before closing the com. She glanced back up at Oliver before leaning back into his side.

"He's overbearing." Oliver murmured as they walked down the street.

"Nah. He's just a worry wort." Anna informed.

"Does he have a crush on you or something?" Oliver asked. There was a joking tone to his voice, but beneath that, Anna almost sensed hostility.

"No. It's not like that. I've known him since I was born. He's like a brother, and nothing more." She tried. He looked skeptical. "so, when he worries like that, it's just him acting like my brother."

Oliver didn't look convinced but sighed out. "alright, whatever you say." He said.

"Trust me. You don't need to worry about a thing." She promised. "because I am all yours."


	22. The Human Factor: pt 1

_author's note: so first of all... I tried uploading this on Friday... but it didn't want to work so... early morning Saturday it is! And secondly... I am taking a completely different approach with this then I was originally going to take so bear with me as I try something new and I hope you enjoy!_

The alley was dark. Anna thought nothing of it as she trekked down the street, and nearly passed it until she heard something. She stopped, glancing into the alley, trying to squint and see what hid in the shadows.

"Anna!" There was a rushed whisper, and Anna pulled back in surprise. She glanced around. She was still on earth, right? She walked forward, recognizing the voice of the duck who had called her. She entered the alley to see her brother appear from behind the trash bin.

"Canard!" she exclaimed, jumping into his arms in a hug. He gripped her tight and she prayed he'd never let go. She'd missed her brother so much.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. He smiled at her, not answering her.

"Oh, kiddo. I miss you so much!" he said, gripping her back into a hug.

Suddenly, wind shot up behind him and he was suddenly holding onto her, his feet flailing off the ground.

"Canard!" she screamed, seeing the whirlwind behind him.

"Take care of yourself, kid." There was no fear in his voice as he let go.

"No!" she screamed, reaching after him. The wind died as the whirlwind disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She heard feet scrape on the sidewalk and whipped around.

"You!" she exclaimed, seeing a familiar man wearing a trench coat, his hair in a ponytail. "I've seen you at games. You helped us with those energy creatures. Who are you!" she demanded.

He looked like he was about to answer but before he could, a shot was heard. The man grabbed his chest before dropping to the ground. She let out an ear piercing scream.

Anna's eyes tore open as she shot up in bed. She looked around hurriedly before realizing it had all been a dream. She pulled her knees up, hugging and leaning against them.

"What the fuck." She said out loud. She glanced at her clock, seeing it was about 5:30 in the morning. The sun wouldn't be up for probably a couple more hours. She sighed, knowing there was no way she'd get back to sleep now.

She pulled the covers off, revealing a gray tank top and black sweats. She slipped on her slippers and walked out towards the rec room. She picked up the main land line, dialing the number.

"Hey! Sorry if I woke you." She said apologetically.

"No worries." Came the obviously tired voice from Oliver. "what's up?"

"Well, woke up a few minutes ago. Couldn't get back to sleep. Wondered if you'd like to meet me at No Doze." She tried. No Doze was a coffee shop just down the street.

"Yeah, alright. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes." He said.

"Sounds good. I'll meet you there." She said, hanging up the phone.

"Meet who where?" she jumped, turning around to see Duke standing there.

"Jesus, you're like a fucking jungle cat!" she exclaimed.

"Where are you going?" he asked again.

"No Doze. Grabbing some coffee with Oliver." She said simply. He looked irritated, but glanced away from her.

"Alright." He murmured, turning to walk away.

"Wait, that's it?" she tried.

"What do you want me to say? _I don't trust him?_ " he tried, and she pulled back. "I've got coffee to brew. And mine won't cost me four bucks." He tried.

"Duke, that's not what I meant." _What did she mean?_ "I just, I guess I'm not used to you not challenging me."

"I told ya, sweetheart. I'm done with the arguing. It's your life, do what you want." He said, turning back around to talk to her.

"Duke, I'm just wondering…" he looked intrigued and she glanced away, "I just wonder… why don't you trust Oliver?" she asked.

"I don't know him. The most I've ever seen of the kid is when he goes to our games. Other than that, you're the only one who's really seen him."

"Do you trust me?" she tried. He looked taken aback for a split second.

"Of course." He promised.

"So, what if I say I trust him? Would that help you to trust him?" she tried. He smirked.

"Sweetheart, Wildwing could say he trusts the kid and I still wouldn't give him the passcode to my room until I'd spent time with him and got to know him." Duke murmured. Anna nodded.

"That's fair." She said simply.

"I'm gonna go get some coffee." He murmured, turning and walking away again.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go get dressed." With that, the two parted ways and not once did Duke let on that the reason he had woken up was because he had heard a scream.

* * *

Anna sat across from Oliver as they chatted over the morning. Outside, streetlights lit up the city of Anaheim and there were no telltale signs of dawn whatsoever.

"Is everything alright over here?" a male barista, Kyle (by his nametag), asked as he walked up.

"Oh, everything's fine. Thanks." Anna said, smiling. Oliver seemed to eyeball the guy.

"Can I get either of you a refill?" he asked, glancing down at Anna's empty cup.

"Um, yeah. I'd like some more please." Anna said, passing her mug to the barista. The barista smiled, walking away.

"What was that?" Oliver asked suddenly.

"What?" she looked startled.

"He was flirting with you." Oliver tried.

"He's working for a tip, Oli. Calm down." Anna tried, pulling out her wallet as the barista came walking back with a full mug of coffee. She went to hand the barista some cash, but he held up his hand.

"That's alright. On the house." He said, shooting her a charming grin. Anna smiled but then looked worried across the table at Oliver. Oliver glared and stood up, marching up to the barista.

"Trying to move in on my girl?" Oliver demanded.

"Dude, relax. I'm just being nice!" Kyle tried.

"Oh yeah? There's just being nice, and there's flirting. And I'm sensing a lot of the latter!" Oliver said hostily.

"No, dude! Honest! I…" Oliver didn't want to hear the guy's excuse as he reached back, punching the guy in the face.

"Oliver!" Anna scolded, rushing over and helping the barista up. A small crowd had gathered around the three and a manager came running over.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking at Anna helping Kyle up and then glaring at Oliver.

"Did you punch one of my employees?" the manager demanded.

"He was moving in on my girl!" Oliver hissed.

 _Trent_. Anna suddenly thought, realizing Trent had done this type of thing before as well.

"Kyle?" the manager asked, looking for his employee's side of the story.

"No, sir. I was just being polite." Kyle tried. The manager glanced at Anna expectantly.

"I think there was just a misunderstanding." She said, handing the manager a 20 dollar bill, "this is for the trouble. I'm so sorry. We'll excuse ourselves." She said. She glanced at Kyle with an apologetic look and looped her arm around Oliver's, dragging him out. Once they had walked about a block in the direction of the pond, Oliver stopped her.

"What the hell was that, Anna?" he demanded.

"I just saved you from an assault charge! That's what that was!" she snapped.

"The guy had it coming! Nobody moves in on my girl!"

"You know, that sounds an awful lot like my ex. My ex who CHEATED on me!" she snapped at him.

"I'm not him, Anna! I'm just concerned. I can't stand the thought of you with anybody else!" he said, grabbing her arm, "you're everything to me!" he insisted.

At that moment, her com beeped.

"What's up?" she asked, opening her com.

"We've got trouble. Where are you?" came Wildwing's voice.

"oh great, it's Wildwing." Oliver grumbled, crossing his arms.

"I'll be back at the pond in a few seconds." She promised, shutting the com. She glared over at Oliver.

"This conversation is far from over." She hissed, activating her jet blades and shooting off towards the pond, leaving Oliver in the dust.

* * *

Five ducks were squished behind a console in a steel mill, peering over it to see three saurians activating something across the room.

"So, when are we moving on these creeps?" Anna whispered, looking at Wildwing.

"I don't know." He rubbed his chin, "we can't move in head on. We need a distraction."

"Move over Tanya, I wanna see." Duke whispered. As he shoved against her, he accidentally shoved an elbow in her side.

"Owe! Watch it!" she exclaimed. Glancing over the console, the ducks saw the lizards glaring in their direction. "uh oh" Tanya murmured, realizing her mistake.

With Siege turned to the side to look at them, it gave Wildwing an opening to see what the saurians were working on.

"It's an explosive!" he informed, "we've gotta get to it before they finish loading it."

At that moment, Siege opened fire on the ducks, forcing them to duck back below the console.

Tanya glanced back up. "Uh, that could be a little tricky." She tried, ducking again as a blast of fire got really close to her head.

"Come on out and fight, you wet footed whimps!" Siege taunted.

"With pleasure, you cold blooded creep!" Duke growled. Anna watched as her team jumped out from behind the console. She took a deep breath, following suit.

Wildwing's blasts went right for Siege's blaster, causing it blow up.

"Hey ducks! You feel lucky? Well, do ya ducks?" the chameleon asked in a terrible impersonation.

Anna rolled her eyes, looked over at Nosedive and Duke and smirked as they all had the same look on their face. They all took aim at the Chameleon, opening fire. The chameleon squeaked, ducking down behind the conveyor belt he stood near.

"Okay, you are lucky! But I still do better impressions!" he defended.

"You definitely don't." Anna muttered.

At that moment, Siege ran over to a pellet gun, opening fire on the ducks. Wildwing was taking most of the fire, blocking it with his armored arm. Nosedive crouched somewhat behind him.

One of the pellets suddenly pelted him right in the face and he was knocked back by the force. He hit the ground hard and heard the mask short circuit.

"Ugh, right in the mask." He murmured, rubbing his head.

"Wing!" Anna rushed over, helping him up.

"Yo, Wildwing. You alright?" Duke asked from his spot.

"I'm fine." Wildwing muttered with pain in his voice. "but we gotta get to that explosive!" he ordered, shaking Anna off his side. The ducks began to run for the table where the explosive sat.

"I prefer my ducks served with hot sauce!" the wraith said, pulling on a lever. Above them was a huge vat that opened on the bottom. From the bottom poured hot liquid metal, aimed right for the ducks.

"Whoa! Hot stuff coming through!" Nosedive announced as all of them suddenly turned to run the other way.

"You meat head! What are you doing!" Siege exclaimed.

"Sending the ducks to a _molten_ doom." The wraith praised himself.

"And us along with them!" the chameleon added. All three of them hit some buttons on their teleporters, getting themselves out of their sticky situation.

Wildwing fired an explosive puck at the wall, giving them a way out of the mill as the explosive began to beep behind them.

As the ducks exited, the mill began to explode. Anna was shocked as she felt Duke grab around her, pulling her down and shielding her body from any debris that came their way. They looked up to see the first rays of the morning beginning to shine over them.

"Well at least things can't get any worse." Wildwing murmured once the dust had cleared. Sirens were heard in the distance before a car door was heard slamming.

"And, it looks like you spoke too soon." Anna muttered, standing up and dusting herself off.

"Well, well. Browsing for worms? Or maybe… blowing up a steel mill!" Klegghorn shouted.

"Klegghorn!" Wildwing tried, standing up, "Dragaunus' goons were constructing a thermite bomb in there!" he tried to reason.

"You keep talking about those lizards, but when the smoke clears, all I ever see is ducks!" Klegghorn snapped.

"Well maybe if you'd open your damn eyes every once in a while." Anna muttered, crossing her arms.

"What was that?" Klegghorn asked, glancing in her direction. Her glare never faltered, but she remained silent. Klegghorn grumbled, "we're going to search this place with a fine-tooth comb, and if I find anything with feathers on it, I'm going to put you birds in a cage! Now beat it! You're molting on my crime scene!" he shouted, walking away towards the debris of the steel mill.

"Everytime we save the world, that guy yells at us!" Nosedive snapped as they began to walk away.

"Humans are such a bunch of… people!" Nosedive growled as they walked back towards the migrator.

"Could be worse, Dive. I don't think Klegghorn really thinks we did it." Anna murmured.

"He just accused us of it!" Nosedive exclaimed, climbing into the migrator.

"True, but if we were really suspects, wouldn't he have arrested us and taken us in for questioning?" she tried, moving towards her seat.

"She's got a point, baby brother. Besides. We gotta get back so Tanya can look at this thing." Wildwing said, pointing to his mask.

* * *

Jason rolled over in bed, answering his phone.

"Yellow?" he said, instead of the traditional "hello".

"Did you just say _yellow_?" came the confused voice on the other end. Jason smiled.

"Kevin! What's up?" he asked.

"no, no. Jace, you're not getting out of that one so easily. Did you say yellow?" Kevin asked, not getting off it. Jason decided to humor his friend.

"Kev, the phone goes _green green,_ I _pink_ it up and say _yellow!_ "

"You've got problems, Jace." Kevin said jokingly. Jason just smiled.

"So, what's up? It's been a while." Jason said.

"I know. This town gets pretty boring without my best friend. Thought maybe you'd like to come up and stay the weekend with my family. Maybe we could go outside and toss the football around."

"A weekend with no cares, and I get to spend it with my best friend?" Jason asked. "count me in."

"Awesome. When can I expect you?" Kevin asked.

"Oh, give me a few hours to get up and dressed and then I'll be on my way. I'll shoot ya a call when I actually leave my place, so you can get an idea of when I'll get there." Jason said.

"Sounds good. See ya later!"

Jason popped up, jumped in the shower, and got himself ready for the day. It took him a second to locate a duffle bag, but once it was found, he got it packed quickly. He paused for a second to watch the news. He saw something about a steel mill blowing up, and the cop who was being interviewed said something about the ducks possibly being responsible. Jason rolled his eyes. He still had questions for the ducks, but he was positive that especially after the deal with the energy creatures, the ducks had to be the good guys. He heaved a sigh as the news ended and some talk show began. He tuned it out for the most part, eating some breakfast before his journey.

"Our guest today is Dr. Wally Pretorius-" Jason switched the tv off, throwing the duffle bag on his back.

He picked up the phone, dialing Kevin back. When he tried to call, though, he only got a dead tone.

"Huh, weird. He must have accidentally left the phone off the hook." He muttered, putting the phone down.

He switched off the lights, checked that he had his apartment keys (although they never left his car keys, he liked to double check) and headed out the door.

* * *

"Dr. Pretorius, as a geneticist, what do you think are the chances of the ducks winning the Stanley cup?"

"Hockey, shmockey!" the man said. Nosedive and Wildwing shared a look. Anna just shook her head. "we humans have been far too accommodating to these space creatures. They should be confined. Studied! We must learn what makes them tick!" the man sounded absolutely deranged. "In the name of science, I suggest that we subject these weirdos to a series of extremely painful tests!"

Wildwing switched off the screen.

"Now they want to use us as Guinea Pigs?" Nosedive asked.

"They just don't understand us!" Wildwing tried.

"No way, big bro. We're talking mega super jerko supremes with double cheese!" Nosedive growled.

"Boy, did you get up on the wrong side of the nest this morning." Wildwing muttered as they walked out of the rec room.

"On a totally unrelated note, Nachos sound pretty good right now." Anna tried, falling into step on Nosedive's other side.

Wildwing smirked at the girl as they walked up on Tanya and Jess, hovering over the mask.

"How's it coming, Tanya?" Wildwing asked. Jess' hands were behind her back, and it looked like she was just observing. Wildwing raised an eyebrow at this. Maybe they'd end up having two team techs if Jess wanted to learn all of this from Tanya. He honestly wouldn't complain. The more the merrier.

"I'm gonna have to rebuild a circuit board. It's gonna take twenty f-, twenty fo… uh, a whole day." She finally got out.

"But we were going to drive to San Francisco's game tomorrow." Wildwing partially whined.

"So? Go. I'll catch up with you in the aerowing." Tanya tried.

"Alright, but we'll use the buddy system. Grin." He turned his attention to the bigger duck, "do you mind skipping the road trip and staying with Tanya?"

"While the paths are many, the journey remains the same." He said.

"I'll uh, take that as a yes." Wildwing muttered.

"Whatever." Grin said, shrugging.

"I'd like to stay too, Wildwing. If that's alright." Jess said. "I think I'm learning a lot from just watching her work."

"Of course, it's alright." Wildwing said, smiling at the younger girl.

* * *

Dragaunus sat, staring at the surveillance feed he'd stolen. He played it back, restarted it and then repeated the whole process. Siege watched in mild confusion.

"Boss?" he asked, seeing the screen. It was surveillance feed from the steel mill. He kept rewinding to the moment the liquid metal was dropped, and trying to zoom in on the ducks.

"Lord Dragaunus, what's going on?" Siege asked.

"quiet, nit wit. I'm focusing." He pressed a button, zooming in on Anna's face. There was water running down the feathers around her face as the liquid metal dropped near the ducks.

"Focusing on what?" Siege asked.

"Siege, do you know why the ducks live on such a cold planet?"

The obviously confused saurian shook his head.

"It's because the ducks can't stand the heat. Ducks don't have sweat glands. They can't be in too much heat at a time."

"But boss, this city is hot."

"Yes, but the ducks have ways around it. I'm sure their armor has some cooling technology. The pond is cold. The air conditioning is probably running in their vehicle nonstop." He paused, realizing the other saurian had got him off track, "my point, though, Siege. Ducks don't have sweat glands."

"Okay?" Siege questioned, not getting it. Dragaunus slapped his forehead and walked up to the screen, slapping a claw against it and pointing at Anna's forehead.

"So, what is that?" he asked, exaggerating.

"Looks like sweat to me, boss." Siege murmured. Dragaunus grinned.

"Exactly. Anna sweats. How? Why? That's what I hope to get to the bottom of." He murmured, tapping in some more numbers, hoping to come across something.

"Siege. Do we still have access to birth certificates from Puckworld?" Dragaunus asked.

"Uh, yeah. We still have Puckworld records on file." The confused saurian murmured, walking over. Dragaunus handed control of the keypad over to the burly saurian.

"Go back to 1979. Pull up births." Dragaunus ordered. Siege looked confused but did as he was told. Dragaunus watched as Siege scrolled through.

Nosedive Adavan Flashblade crossed in front of the screen. He recognized the name, and knew it was the duck who was just about Anna's age.

"Scroll down to the T's." he ordered. Once again, Siege did as he was told.

"There." He pointed at the screen.

"What? What is that?" Siege asked.

On the screen was a birth listed for Carmen Marie Thunderbeak It also had a time of death, marked 2 weeks after her birth. Right above that file was a birth certificate for Anna Marie Thunderbeak.

"So?" Siege asked, looking between the certificates. The girls shared the exact same birthday: November 5th. "They were twins." Siege tried.

"Don't be ridiculous. If you have twins, you don't give them both the same middle name, at least not usually." he trailed off, rubbing his chin, "no, no. Anna was named after the dead one. My suspicions have been right all along." He mused.

"You've lost me, boss." Siege muttered.

"She sweats like a human, Siege. She was human at some point."

"But… if she's a human, how did she become a duck?"

"The ducks accidentally steal a baby from Earth, somehow. I'm not entirely sure on that. Once they get it back, they realize their mistake. But ducks, they don't kill unnecessarily. They attempt to correct any wrongs."

"Yeah, but wouldn't correcting the wrong here be to put the kid back where it came from?" Siege asked.

"Technically speaking. I'm guessing whatever device they used to get to Earth in the first place was accidentally destroyed. Not wanting to raise some alien baby and have the public ask questions, the government must have funded a program to attempt to alter the baby to look like a duck, and it worked." Dragaunus guessed, "After that, all they had to do was find some poor family that had recently lost a baby and… ta da. Perfect set up. Kid enters the system as if nothing has happened and everyone pretends she was born a duck."

"You're saying Anna, Canard Thunderbeak's little sister, is a human?" Siege asked, still not entirely getting it.

"I'm saying that this would be a most brilliant opportunity to find out how the ducks did it." Dragaunus murmured, pressing a button.

* * *

Pretorius hovered over some vile, spinning it around in his hand, when the screen in front of him flashed on.

"Ah, lord Dragaunus. What a pleasant surprise." Pretorius said, nearly dropping the vile.

"I trust you have made use of my robots." Dragaunus said.

"Of course, lord Dragaunus. I must thank you again for providing them." Pretorius chuckled.

"Once you told me your plan, I couldn't resist. But one thing I thought you might like to know…" he trailed off for dramatic effect.

"One of the ducks, the female with the brown feathers; the coach. I do believe she is a human who was genetically altered to look like a duck."

"And how did you come to this conclusion?" Pretorius asked.

"Never mind that." Dragaunus snapped. "I want you to figure out if my suspicions are correct and if they are, find out how the ducks were able to alter her appearance."

"Of course, my lord." Pretorius said. Dragaunus showed a toothy grin as his image disappeared from the screen. Pretorius scratched his head, glancing around.

"Of course, to find out how the ducks altered a human to look like a duck, I'm definitely going to need a test subject."

An alarm suddenly went off in his shop, and he pushed a button, forcing the alarm to silence as a surveillance feed appeared, showing a car entering the town of Sunnyville.

"Mmm, it would appear I've found my test subject."


	23. The Human Factor: pt 2

_so... I know I disappeared... I've had chapters written but... I suck at uploading. lol Honestly though, I have it written out to like chapter 27... I've just reached a place where I know that if I didn't word it or write it correctly, it's going to suck and I just haven't been able to post this last episode. Last time, it just sounded stupid so I really spent some time on it this time around. I hope Dragaunus' little sweat analysis wasn't too far of a stretch. I meant to make it seem like he had suspected this whole time she wasn't what she seemed and that little find sent him over the edge, but I failed to mention that so... he's just a big goofy lizard who likes doing evil stuff and just happened to decide to go searching for evidence that Anna was different somehow. Anyways, hope that wasn't too far of a stretch... if it was, sorry and... do enjoy because I'm hoping to start updating regularly again. This next week will be weird as I am moving into a new apartment on the 9th but hopefully after that, things will settle down and updates will be regular. Until then, enjoy!_

The next day found the ducks driving across the countryside.

"I'll say this about planet earth. It certainly is a beautiful place." Mallory murmured, watching the beautiful countryside pass by. Green grass grew all around. Gorgeous red barns stood tall in the distance and a few trees grew here and there.

"Yeah, maybe. But I could certainly do without the lamos who hang here." Dive muttered.

"Lighten up, Dive. It's a road trip. Not a sulk trip." Anna murmured, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

The ducks passed a sign that read "Sunnyville" and no sooner had they passed the sign, the migrator began to slow down.

"Hey, good idea Wing. This looks like a nice place to stop for dinner." Duke said.

"Yeah. Only I didn't stop us." Wildwing muttered. A light flashed on the console, and Mallory pointed it out.

"We've got an engine malfunction."

The ducks crowded out of the vehicle as Wildwing opened up the hood, trying to find any issues.

Nosedive glanced around.

"Oh great, here we go." He said, seeing the humans coming out of their homes. "they're probably going to tar and defeather us for disturbing the boredom!" he snapped.

"defeather?" Anna asked, raising her eyebrow at Dive's words.

"The mighty ducks!" one of the humans exclaimed.

"Sports heroes!" came another cry of praise.

"You were saying, little brother?" Wildwing asked, turning around.

"Just wait! We've only been here five seconds!" he muttered, crossing his arms.

"I'm Sam Delaney, the mayor." An older gentlemen introduced himself, "what brings you to our little town?"

"Well, frankly, engine trouble." Wildwing explained.

"Maybe Pops can help," the mayor suggested, pointing to a grey-bearded man making their way toward the ducks, "he's our local mechanic."

"Well, well. Quite a rig," Pops commented, "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, you tell me. I don't see anything wrong with it." Wildwing tried, turning around with Pops to look at the machine.

"I'm Doug McClain." Came a voice from behind the ducks. Mallory's eyes went wide as she turned on her heel.

"Doug McClain? The Doug McClain? The only 6-star general in history?" she asked excitedly.

"Uh, yes. Retired." The older man explained.

"You actually read up on Earth's generals?" Anna questioned, cocking her head at the red head. Anna's question either went ignored or unheard.

"Sir! Mallory McMallard. Puckworld Special Forces." She reached into her pocket, pulling out her ID to show him. "if you'd be willing sir, I'm sure I could learn a lot from you."

He adjusted his glasses, looking at the information the duck had just handed him.

"I suppose you could teach me more than I could ever teach you." Doug McClain said, handing the ID back to Mallory.

"You threw a rod, probably left it back in the road somewhere." Pops explained, turning back around to Wildwing.

"Well, could you get us a replacement?" Wildwing asked.

"A custom job like that? I'll have to machine it from scratch." Pops turned to walk away, "I'll tow her to my garage."

"Wildwing," the mayor had returned with a younger human, "this is my son, Chip. Made all-state this year. Will probably wind up in the pros."

"You play hockey, Chip?" Wildwing asked, shaking the kid's hand.

"greatest game in the world." He responded, "Hey, I don't suppose I could get you to show me some pointers?"

"Sure, be glad to." Wildwing obliged.

"And you'll all stay with me and the missus at our boarding house." The mayor offered, wrapping an arm around Wildwing's shoulders. Nosedive cocked his head.

"Me and the missus at the boredom house?" he shook his head, frustrated, "ugh, this place is gonna give me brain rot!"

"You and me both." Anna muttered. She turned her head, seeing Duke head off down the street. She cocked her head at him, but turned back to the sound of a familiar voice.

"Dive!"

"Thrash! Mook!" the two teenagers came walking down the street toward the ducks.

"What are you guys doing here?" Nosedive asked.

"Visiting our grandma and being bored out of our skulls." Mook muttered.

"Tell me about it! We're stranded in the land that time forgot." Nosedive added.

"Totally. But they've got a rippin video arcade, man!" Thrash praised.

"Alright! I haven't played Space munchers in a week!" Nosedive said, starting to walk away with them.

"You coming, Annie?" he asked, turning around. Anna considered it. Relaxing with Nosedive, playing some video games… it sounded fun. But she tugged towards the ex-thief of the group. She almost felt like she needed to talk to him. See what he thought about Oliver's little outburst this morning. See if he could help her work through it.

"I'll catch up with you guys later. Go have fun." She waved them off.

"See Dive?" Wildwing started, "not all humans are bad."

"Yo, who you calling humans?" Thrash asked.

"We happen to be alternative lifeforms in search of cool tattoos, and new hair colors not found in nature!" Mookie added.

Wildwing raised an eyebrow.

"I guess birds of a feather really do flock together." He muttered.

* * *

Duke walked into the museum, glancing around.

"Ooh, I had heard the mighty ducks were in town, but I didn't know you were art lovers"

 _Whoa, this really is a small town if she already heard we were here_ Duke thought as he walked further into the museum.

"Our collection dates back to the Spanish colonial era." She informed him.

"Yeah, this is quite an impressive collection of… stuff." He said, walking over to look at the artifacts that hung on the wall.

"Here's some stuff I think you'll really like!" she growled. Duke glanced over to see a sword coming right for him. He barely had time to flinch to his right, and the sword still caught him.

He hung from the wall, the sword stuck in the fabric around his shoulder. He felt a slight pain and knew part of the sword had sliced his shoulder, but it didn't feel like too deep of a cut. He'd gotten lucky.

"Whoa, did I say stuff?" he asked defensively. The woman growled, approaching him.

"I meant fine antiques, of course!" he defended, moving to the left and ripping his shirt as he moved to get away from her. He drew his sword, but as it activated, his hand was grabbed from behind. Two burly men stood there, turning him around to face the creepy woman.

"Hey, what the hell's the matter with you people!" he growled.

The bell above the door rang, signaling someone had entered the museum.

"Uh, Duke?" Anna raised an eyebrow at him, "I thought Wildwing said no more wild parties…"

"Well, when you're popular…" Duke trailed off. The woman hissed, turning towards Anna.

"Anna, run!" he ordered.

"That's a negative, Duke." She said, drawing her sword and swinging for the woman. The woman's reflexes were fast, too fast to be a human, and she grabbed Anna's hands, twisting her arms. Anna grimaced as she was forced to drop her saber. She pulled back from the robot, backing up towards the door.

"Anna, get out of here!" Duke shouted as the two burly men dragged him out the back doors.

"No, Duke!" she screamed, backing up from the red eyed woman. She opened her com, hoping to contact Wildwing for backup. A screeching sound was heard and the woman in front of her started acting weird, covering where her ears were.

"Perfect." Anna said, sprinting past the woman towards the back. She flung open the door.

"Duke!" she yelled before something hard hit her in the back of the head. She hit the floor, trying to focus on anything in front of her. She heard Duke call her name somewhere in the distance. She saw a pair of shoes come into her view, but the hit had been too hard and soon, her vision went black.

* * *

Wildwing blocked a shot from Chip.

"Nice shot, Chip. But tighten up on your grip a little."

"I guess in hockey, your best shot is all you've got." Chip said, collecting the puck.

"Funny, my best friend used to say that," Wildwing said, skating over, "a guy named Canard. You know, you sort of remind me of him."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Chip said.

"That reminds me, I should contact my friends in Anaheim." Wildwing said, turning on his com. As soon as he flipped it open, a terrible screeching noise sounded from the device. Wildwing squinted against the noise, and quickly shut the com.

"chip, you ok?" he asked, seeing the teenager had acted strangely.

"My hearing… it's kind of sensitive." He murmured.

"Something must be wrong with this thing." Wildwing muttered, "would it be alright if I used your telephone."

"Uh, ours is on the blink. Sorry." Chip said.

"Oh. Well, I'm gonna find a payphone then, ok?" Wildwing said. Chip nodded before Wildwing skated off.

"Hey, remember, dinner's at seven!" he called.

Wildwing waved his hockey stick in the air, showing he'd heard Chip.

* * *

"Awe man!" Dive muttered, looking through the glass to the arcade, "this town must totally fold when it gets dark."

"That Pops guy will open it up for us." Thrash offered.

"That mechanic guy?" Nosedive said skeptically, rubbing the back of his head.

"Totally. He runs the place." Thrash tried, "hang tight, dude. We'll be right back." He said as he and Mookie took off running.

"oh, sure fine! Leave me here!" Dive shouted, leaning against the wall. "You know, I haven't had this much fun since my last root canal!"

* * *

Mallory stood in the general's house, admiring the weapons that hung above the fireplace.

"This is quite a weapon, Mallory." Doug said, examining the puck launcher.

"Thank you, sir. But I should probably reconnoiter with my teammates now." She said. The retired general activated the puck launcher, pointing it at her.

"You're not going anywhere!" he growled.

"Uh, sir? This is extremely non-regulation behavior sir!" Mallory snapped, her eyes going wide. Before she knew it, two burly men had grabbed onto either side of her as Doug McClain approached her. She gasped, realizing she was caught.

* * *

 _Canard stopped a shot coming from the twelve-year-old. He smiled at her._

" _Not bad Annie, but tighten up on your grip a little." He instructed. He watched as the youngster did as she was told._

" _Remember, Anna. Don't just take any shot you can. Wait for it to open up. Your best shot is all you've got."_

Anna shot awake, but was unable to move.

"What the fuck is going on!" she growled.

"Patience my pet." Came a sinister voice. She turned her head to see the whack job from the TV show they'd been watching the day before.

"Pretorius! What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"well, alien DNA is just so hard to come by these days." He murmured, "but then again, you don't necessarily have alien DNA do you?" he said, leaning in close. "or at least you didn't start with it."

"What… are you talking about?" she asked.

"They didn't tell you?" he asked.

"Tell me what?" she asked, cocking her head.

The crazy scientist tsked, pushing some buttons on a console he stood by. Anna looked to her left, seeing a human strapped down to the table next to her. He had long hair tied back into a ponytail. She recognized him as the human who had helped them before with the energy creatures.

She then glanced down. Needles poked in different spots around her body, and cords were wrapped around her wrists. She pulled, trying to get free but to no avail. She could still feel her pocket knife sitting in it's hidden pocket up her sleeve.

"If I'm right about this…" Pretorius flipped a lever and all at once, pain ripped through Anna. It felt as if a thousand needles were stabbing her all at once.

Duke woke up strapped to a table. What had woken him up? He heard it again. A scream from a blocked off room.

"Anna!"

* * *

"Nosedive!" Nosedive was pulled from his thoughts as Wildwing came running up. "Something strange is going on around here."

"Good, this bird could use a little excitement!" Nosedive muttered.

"I'm serious. Try your com." Wildwing said. Nosedive did as he was told and was met with the same screeching sound Wildwing had experienced earlier.

"See? It's being jammed! And when Chip heard that sound, he started acting weird. I don't think the migrator broke down. I think we were deliberately stopped here." Wildwing pieced together.

"I'm telling you big bro, these humans are out to ice us!"

"Well, according to the auto tracker, Duke and Anna are just a block away." Wildwing said, looking at his GPS, "wait here while I get them."

Wildwing ran down the block, flinging the door to the museum open. When he didn't immediately see anyone, he went towards the phone. He picked it up, but received no indication the phone was working.

"All the phones are dead!" he growled, glancing to his left. His eyes went wide.

"Oh shit…" he murmured, picking up Anna's saber off the ground. A few feet away, Duke's saber lay on the ground as well.

"What the hell is going on around here?" he wondered, realizing he needed to get to the bottom of this. If Duke and Anna had both lost their sabers, it had to have meant they had been fighting someone… and lost.

He took off, running for the mayor's house. As he ran up, Chip was putting the trash out.

"Alright, Chip. What's going on here?" he demanded. Sam Delaney appeared at the door, waving to them.

"Come on inside, boys. Dinner's ready."

"All the phones in town are dead, and now Duke and Anna are missing! I want some answers!" Wildwing demanded. Almost immediately, Sam's friendly demeanor changed.

"But you must come inside for dinner." Sam growled, his eyes glowing red.

Wildwing was grabbed by two burly guys who he hadn't even seen approach him. Chip grabbed on as well.

"Chip, what are you doing?" Wildwing asked. Chip didn't respond. His eyes just glowed an eerie red.

"You must stay for dinner!" Sam now sounded almost like a robot, his eyes glowing red. Wildwing felt fear overcome him.

"What are you people?"

* * *

Nosedive glanced around, worried about Wildwing. He definitely should have been back by now.

"I'm gonna find Wildwing," he said out loud, "this show is getting light on ducks."

"Hey there, sonny." Pops appeared from behind the corner of the store.

"Hey, Pops. What happened to Thrash and Mookie?" he asked.

"Well, their grandma called them in for supper. But they asked me to open the arcade for you." Pops said, pulling out his keys and unlocking the door.

"Video games or solving the mystery?" Nosedive tried to weigh which was more important. "Oh, just one quick round of cyber sleezoids."

"This way, sonny." Pops said, finally getting the door open, "have fun."

Dive stopped in his tracks, glancing around. "Pops, I've got news for ya. This is the BORINGEST video arcade in the known universe."

From the back doors appeared two burly men who immediately moved for Nosedive. Nosedive quickly moved back outside past pops.

"Going somewhere, sonny?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to the bigger men in the back of the arcade.

As Nosedive exited the arcade, he saw humans approaching him from down the street.

"Hey, you guys have gotta help me!" he tried, but the humans approached maliciously, their eyes glowing red.

He glanced to his right, seeing the mayor's family approaching. He tried to talk to them as well, but they were also maliciously approaching, eyes glowing red.

"I knew we couldn't trust those crummy humans!" he growled, taking off for the street. He tripped over a manhole, hitting the ground. A pair of feet appeared in front of him, startling him.

"Oh, Thrash! Mook!" he exclaimed, realizing who it was, "we've gotta get out of here, guys. This place is like spook city!"

Almost immediately, it appeared their skin was melting off.

"Um, little skin problem there, guys?" he asked, shrinking back. The skin disappeared, revealing robots dressed as his best friends. He was grabbed by the mayor from behind and as he turned to look, these robots were also shedding their human skin to reveal the robots from underneath.

"Awe man, what I wouldn't give for a good flashback right about now!" Nosedive tried. No sooner had he spoken, he remembered what Wildwing had said about the coms

 _When Chip heard that sound, he started acting… weird_

"Alright! My favorite part in the whole show!" Nosedive exclaimed, flipping his com open. As soon as the screeching noise started, the robots released him, covering where their ears would be. Nosedive activated his rocket skates, taking off away from the robots. He headed down the street towards what looked like to be a church or school.

"It's Nosedive on the breakaway!" he narrated, heading towards the cellar entrance, "he hits the boards!" he announced, smashing his way through the door and sliding down a chute into the basement.

"Whoa." He sat up, looking around. There were rows of green caskets lining the walls. The basement was huge and seemed to go on forever. "What in the world of dracula's basement?" Nosedive muttered, standing up and walking over to one of the caskets.

He saw Thrash, sleeping peacefully. Next to him was Mookie. "Whoa, talk about De ja vu, man!" Nosedive muttered, opening the casket.

"Nosedive?" Thrash asked, coming to. "what's going on, man?" he asked, looking around.

Nosedive ignored the question, moving to another casket. He opened it to reveal the real Doug McClain.

"A giant duck?" McClain gasped, looking surprised.

"Don't start with me! I've had a seriously rough night!" Nosedive exclaimed, "Now what happened here?" he asked.

"Somebody sleep gassed the whole village. I succumbed before I could find out who did it." McClain explained.

"This town has been taken over by cheap imitations of you guys." Nosedive explained as Thrash and Mookie walked over to join them. "I've gotta find the other ducks."

"The sleep gas was released from Pop's garage if that's any help." McClain offered.


	24. The Human Factor: pt 3

Anna's eyes opened. Her world was blurry. She couldn't make sense of really anything except that she felt as if she'd been shocked a hundred times. She was also weak, and she feared that if she even could stand up, she wouldn't get far. She glanced over, seeing a duck. With her vision blurry, all she could make out were light tan feathers. Feathers that matched Canard's coloring.

"Canard?" she questioned, not sure she could trust her own eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut, opening them again, still staring at the duck that lay beside her. Her eyes locked onto long brown hair and she realized, though he shared some features with Canard, it wasn't her brother. Oddly enough, though, he looked like he could definitely be related to the Thunderbeaks somehow.

"Who are you?" she asked, seeing the duck had turned his head to look at her.

"What's going on?" he slurred, sounding just as out of it as she felt. She shook her head, trying to get up but found she couldn't. Restraints still held her tight.

"I don't know, but I'll let you know when I find out." She answered his question. She fidgeted with her sleeve, working the hidden knife out and into her hand.

* * *

"Well, well. All comfy, are we?" came Pops snide remark as he walked into the garage. Duke, Mallory and Wildwing were all strapped to separate, individual tables.

Pops smirked, pulling off his fake beard and hat to reveal a bald head. He pulled out a pair of glasses and glared towards the ducks.

"It's Dr. Pretorius! That nut-ball we saw on TV." Wildwing murmured.

"Yeah, and if I remember you guys saying correctly, he wanted to perform painful tests on us." Duke muttered.

"And if I heard correctly, Anna's already gotten some painful tests performed on her." He added, glaring at the man.

"What?" Wildwing asked, turning his attention towards Duke.

"Anna's an interesting specimen. Did you know her DNA matched up nearly perfectly with that of the human I had strapped to the table in there? I mean, aside from some crazy alien DNA, she was a perfect match. What were the odds?" Pretorius asked, obviously excited about his find.

"What the hell are you droning on about?" Mallory demanded.

"Your little friend in there… she has mild traces of human DNA." Pretorius explained.

"Probably because you put them there, you sick fuck." Duke muttered.

"As much as I'd love to take credit, she was born with human DNA. The alien DNA was put there." Pretorius explained.

"You're a liar." Wildwing sneered.

"Say what you will, but I know what my data showed me. Now, let's get back to business." he muttered, walking over to a console.

"For years, I've been trying to create a genetically engineered creature. The next step in evolution: The sloar!" Pretorius began his monologue, and as if on cue, something growled, banging on a locked door. The growling was followed by a chicken's cluck, and Duke raised an eyebrow.

"I hope Anna's not behind that door." He murmured.

"Thus far, my efforts have been… less than successful." Pretorius muttered, commenting on the chicken's cluck and not hearing Duke's comment.

"But now I shall use your advanced alien DNA to perfect my creature!" he said with a crazed tone, "at last, my genius will be recognized. I'll get on all the talk shows. Be seen in public with super models. Have my own infomercial!"

"Now just a darn minute! What were you doing with Anna then? And how were you able to replace a whole town with robots?" Wildwing demanded.

"I have a simple answer for both. I get my supplies from a very powerful backer." He held up a signed picture of Dragaunus.

"Unbelievable. To Dr. Pretorius. Best luck on your mad dreams of conquest. Signed, Dragaunus." Duke read the signed picture out loud.

"As a favor, I promised I would look into Anna's origins." Pretorius added.

"Anna's origins?" Mallory asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why would Dragaunus care about that?"

"Well, I'll say this for ol' Lizard lips. He sure treats his fans well." Wildwing rolled his eyes.

"Of course, to properly access your genetic codes, you'll have to be properly… dissected." Pretorius informed, flipping a switch.

Above the ducks, three glowing objects began to descend.

* * *

Anna finally ripped through the cords with her knife and immediately turned the knife around to use on the other cords that held her other wrist in place. Once those were both taken care of, she freed her ankles in a matter of seconds. She noticed a weird white coloring had attached itself to the feathers where the bonds had been around her wrists and ankles, but she chose to ignore it for now, turning her attention to the duck next to her.

"Who are you?" the strange duck asked, still looking dazed. "I forgot to ask your name last time."

 _Last time?_ Anna wondered, freeing the dazed duck.

"My name is Anna Thunderbeak." She said, helping him to sit up. "I'm a friend."

"My sister…" he tried, rubbing his head. "Her name was Anna, too." He commented.

"Come on, uh… what's your name?" she asked, helping him to stand up. He wobbled, but managed to keep from falling.

"Jason." He said, extending his hand. She took it and they shook hands before a loud commotion was heard just outside the door.

Anna tried it, but it was definitely locked.

"Wah ha! Way to go, baby bro!" Wildwing's muffled cheer was heard from the other side.

"What was that?" Jason asked.

"That's good news. Means my team is still in one piece. Come on." She said, kicking the door right by the latch. It moved slightly, but didn't give way.

"God dammit!" she shouted, kicking again and falling forward with the kick.

"Annie!" Dive exclaimed upon seeing her.

"You're ok!" Duke added to the cheers. She saw their faces change to confusion as Jason joined her.

Before anyone could comment on the stranger, a growl was heard, followed by a cluck. Nosedive bent down, picking up a pipe.

"Hey, do you know what you get when you cross a chicken with a lobster?" Nosedive asked.

"Uh, no." Wildwing murmured.

"I don't either…" he pointed to the door, "but it's coming this way!" he exclaimed. Out of the door appeared the strangest creature that looked exactly how Nosedive described it; A cross between a chicken and a lobster.

Nosedive ran up on the creature while Anna tried to nonchalantly scoot around the creature without it seeing her. She was trying to let Nosedive distract the creature while she got the other ducks free.

She ran up on Wildwing, looking around trying to find some sort of switch to get him free.

A shadow fell over her as she turned around.

"I hope that thing doesn't have a taste for duck." Duke murmured.

Anna reached for her weapons, but realized Pretorius had removed them all. She had nothing. No weapons. No armor.

"Well this is a weird way to go. Eaten by a surf and turf dinner." Wildwing muttered. The lobster reached up a claw, and Anna threw herself over Wildwing.

But the hit never came. Jason had barreled into the creature's side, knocking it off balance. It went to move for Jason, but at that moment, Nosedive had come to, running for the creature.

"Check please!" he said, slamming against the sloar. He opened fire on it, backing it into a pile of chains, forcing it to fall over. He and Jason shot each other a look before they both started pulling on the opposite end of the chain, lifting the creature so it was hanging in midair.

"One genetic disaster, coming up!" Nosedive announced.

Wildwing walked over to Pretorius, having been freed by Anna. He picked the bald-headed man up, sticking him on a hook on the opposite side of the creature.

"Why don't you just hang out until the authorities get here." Wildwing said. He turned around, waving for the rest of the ducks to move out.

Once outside, they saw the angry villagers staring at a group of the robots standing by a gas tank.

"Get back, everyone!" Wildwing ordered, firing an explosive puck at the tank. The rest of Pretorius' robots went flying, nothing more than scrap metal.

"Hey, sweetheart. You alright?" Duke asked, turning Anna around to look at him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she asked him. He grabbed a strand of her hair and she saw that the strand he'd grabbed was white. She gawked, turning to look at the reflection in the window of the garage. The hair that framed her face had turned white. The rest of her hair had kept its mahogany brown color, but the strands that surrounded her face were purely white. This drew her attention to her chest. Her shirt was just low enough that she could see the spots where Pretorius had had needles sticking out of. Now, there were white splotches where the needles had been. As she held the fabric of her shirt out of the way to examine this, she was drawn back to the white coloring surrounding her wrists.

She held up her hands, seeing white feathers circling around her wrists where the cords had been. She flipped her hands around, seeing a white dot on the back of each hand where a needle had been.

"What the hell?" she murmured.

"I think it looks cool!" Nosedive said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Mallory, in the meantime, had climbed up onto the roof of the garage.

"What is it, Mallory?" Wildwing asked.

"The device that was jamming our coms. And the reason the migrator stopped in the first place." She explained, firing a puck at the base, destroying the device.

Once Mallory had joined the others, Wildwing turned his attention to Jason.

"Now who are you?" he asked, not sure what to make of him.

"His name is Jason." Anna answered for him.

"Why does he look like…" Wildwing trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Like Canard?" Anna asked. Wildwing nodded.

"Is he a Thunderbeak? Is he related to you?" Wildwing asked.

"I… don't have a clue." She said simply.

"What are you guys talking about? Thunderbeak?" Jason asked, slightly glaring at the ducks.

"What's your last name?" Anna asked.

"Peterson." He said simply.

"Jason Peterson… I've never even heard of a Peterson before." Duke murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Jason asked, starting to pace, "it's one of the most common names on…" he trailed off, seeing his reflection in the window.

He stopped, staring at himself. He raised an arm, almost as if to make sure it was really him looking back at himself.

"What's that?" he asked, looking back at Wildwing while pointing at the window.

"Uh, your reflection?" Wildwing asked. Jason looked taken aback.

"Oh… good. That's uh… that's what I thought it was." He murmured before falling to the ground, having fainted.

"Could this day get any weirder?" Mallory demanded.

"Come on. We better get him back to Tanya." Wildwing muttered.

"For what?" Nosedive asked, "what is she going to be able to tell us that we don't already know which, may I remind you, is very little."

"She is where the medcoms are." Wildwing shot back at his little brother, "and if the medcoms detect anything weird, she'll be able to read and figure out what's going on."

* * *

"Traces of Human DNA." Tanya said, reading down the piece of paper the medcom had given her. Jess hovered over her shoulder, reading as well. "It's faint, but it's definitely there. Whatever Pretorius did to this guy…"

"I think he did the same thing to Anna." Wildwing offered, moving so Anna could come into view.

"new hairdo?" Tanya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I kind of like it." Anna murmured, playing with a strand of her white hair.

"Lay down." Tanya ordered, knowing Anna knew the drill. The teenager walked over, laying on the medcom opposite Jason.

Tanya tapped on some buttons, but was still addressing Wildwing.

"Wildwing, there's something that troubles me."

"What's up, Tanya."

"The duck DNA in this guy… it's… fresh. I don't know how to explain it. The medcom is showing recent trauma involving this guy's nucleotides. It's almost like the duck nucleotides were recently introduced to human nucleotides. Not the other way around."

"What are you saying, Tanya?" Wildwing asked. The medcom that Anna lay on beeped.

"I'm saying, I think this guy might have been a human turned duck." Tanya explained.

"Mallory, do me a favor." Wildwing turned to the female. "go up to Drake 1 and search up anything involving a Jason Peterson. I want to know if there are any humans with that name and what their story is."

"You got it, Wing." She said, taking off for the elevator.

"Okay, this is weird." Tanya said, having grabbed the paper with Anna's information on it. She read through the paper one more time, just to be sure of herself before sharing information.

"What is it, Tanya?" Wildwing asked.

"Traces of human DNA-"

"I knew it!" Duke exclaimed.

"but the human DNA is… nearly nonexistent."

"You said the other guy's DNA was faint." Wildwing offered.

"This is different. It's been in her system for a long time. Long enough that her "duck" DNA has all but taken it over and washed it out."

"What the hell does a "long time" actually mean?" Duke asked.

"Years." Tanya said briefly.

"What?" Wildwing asked.

"I don't know what to make of it. Honest to god. I have no idea what human DNA is doing inside of Anna."

"Neither do I! I've known her since she was born!" Wildwing agreed. "and she WAS born a duck." Wildwing added.

"I should know." Anna muttered, sitting up. "I was there for most of it." She agreed with Wildwing sarcastically.

"Anna, it could have happened when you were young." Tanya tried. "Do you remember ever being operated on as a small child?"

"Like her mom and dad would let her get operated on." Wildwing snapped. "Even then, how would ducks get their hands on human DNA? We didn't even know humans existed until we followed Dragaunus through a dimensional gateway."

"I know, Wildwing. But there's nothing else I can go off of right now." Tanya argued.

A groan from Jason pulled everyone out of the argument. They all stared wide eyed at the medcom as Jason sat up.

"What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"Don't faint again…." Anna tried, sitting on the edge of his bed. "you are a duck." She tried, having understood what Tanya had said. Not only that, she had a faint memory of what had happened in the lab Pretorius had locked her in, and she thought she could remember a human laying on the table before she had passed out the first time.

"Yeah…" he trailed off, looking as if he had turned pale. "I thought I was dreaming." He murmured.

"What do you remember?" Wildwing asked.

"Well, I was on my way to visit my best friend Kevin, and the next thing I knew, I was strapped to a table next to her." He said, pointing to Anna. "and she has the same name as my lost sister." He added quickly.

"What?" Nosedive asked.

"That's… that's why I've been trying to work up my courage to talk to you guys. My baby sister has been missing since I was 4. For years I thought I was crazy, or had made up some story to deal with the fact that my sister and mother were killed when I was young but… I remember looking through the holes in the closet door and seeing… a duck." He tried.

"A duck?" Duke questioned. Jason nodded.

"Yeah. I saw a duck… who looked a little like him actually except… female." He pointed at Nosedive as he spoke. Nosedive looked shocked. Wildwing uncrossed his arms, giving Nosedive a look.

"Mom?" he questioned.

"It's vague. It's such a vague memory now, but at the same time, I can remember… this duck picking my baby sister up from the overturned crib. This duck picked up the diaper bag and just walked out with my sister. By the time I worked up my courage to follow her, she was gone. The cops wrote it off. Said I was traumatized from watching my remaining family get slaughtered in front of me and said I just made it up to cope."

"But you think it actually happened?" Wildwing asked. Jason nodded.

"When you guys first arrived, I knew I had to at least talk to you guys. And then when I first saw him…" he pointed to Dive again, "I knew I couldn't have imagined it."

"So if what you're saying is true… then…. Ducks figured out interdimensional travel." Tanya piped up.

"That's impossible though. Nobody had ever even considered interdimensional travel to be real until Dragaunus showed up." Wildwing argued.

"Wildwing, I think… I think my dad was on the team of scientists that figured out interdimensional travel." Tanya muttered slowly.

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"It was take your kid to work day." She tried.

"And you're just NOW mentioning this?" he asked her.

"I hadn't thought to bring it up until HE mentioned a duck stealing his baby sister." She pointed to Jason. "besides, for the longest time I thought it was a dream. In fact, dad made sure I thought I had dreamt the whole thing." She explained.

"Tanya, what happened? On take your kid to work day?" Wildwing probed.

"Well, they got a gateway open, and the woman just sort of took off through the portal."

"Woman?" Wildwing asked, his eyes glazing with realization.

"Yeah, I think her name was Nova or something." Tanya muttered, unsurely.

"Nora!" Wildwing exclaimed. Familiarity flickered in Tanya's eyes.

"Yes! That was her name!" Tanya exclaimed.

"That's… our mom." Nosedive added.

"She worked as a scientist for years, but suddenly retired and became a stay at home mom shortly after Dive was born. Looking back, I thought she'd given up her career to raise us, but if she stole a baby from another dimension, would it be possible that they fired her?" Wildwing asked.

"They didn't fire her. But I remember seeing a baby. I held a baby. A human baby." Tanya seemed to recall. "I remember our first time in the human's hospital, when Anna was there… we walked past the nursery glass in the hospital and the babies looked so familiar. That must have been why." She realized, "because I had actually held one before."

"So, this baby… what happened to it?" Nosedive asked, trying to piece everything together.

"Nora was smart." Tanya trailed off, glancing back towards Anna. Anna shifted under Tanya's gaze. "I think she was so smart that she could have possibly merged duck DNA with that of a human baby."

"Anna?" Wildwing asked.

"It is a little strange that Jason's sister and Anna share the same name." Duke agreed.

"Yes, but how could mom have known Anna's name was… Anna?" Wildwing asked.

Anna reached beneath her dog tags, pulling out a gold chain. She took it off, revealing a heart hanging off of it. The heart read "Anna" across it.

"I recognize that!" Jason exclaimed.

Anna cleared her throat.

"It was a-"

"Keychain." Jason finished for her. She nodded in confirmation.

"I picked it out probably a week after my sister born." Jason tried, "Mom obviously helped pick the correct name, but ever since we bought it, it hung on the zipper on… the diaper bag."

His eyes met Anna's, and she could see tears welling up in his eyes.

"Anna? My sister?" he asked, unsurely. This all seemed very crazy to him, but so far everything had added up. The necklace, the name, the traces of human DNA.

"Are you my brother?" she asked. He managed a smile.

"I… I spent so many years trying to find you. No matter what the police said… I knew… I knew you couldn't be dead." He said. His words, the way he spoke, and his tone told everyone in the room that he believed it to be true: Anna was truly his long-lost sister.

Before Anna knew it, Jason had pulled her into a long, hard hug. She hugged him back, unsure how she felt about the whole situation. He had spent a lifetime searching for her. She had spent a lifetime not knowing he existed.

"Now just a darn minute!" Wildwing tried. The two siblings jumped apart at his voice.

"What's wrong, Wing?" Anna asked.

"I specifically remember Chloe being pregnant." He tried, looking like he was trying to recall the memory. Then something hit him. It was obvious on his face.

"What?" Nosedive asked. Wildwing glanced at his brother before looking back in the direction of Tanya, Anna and Jason.

"She went to the hospital to deliver and when she got out, I never heard anything. For a couple of months, there was no mention of a baby. And then suddenly, Anna was there. They told us she'd been in ICU that whole time." Wildwing recalled.

"What if… I don't want to say it but what if…" Nosedive trailed off, unable to get the words out.

"What if the timing was perfect." Duke finished for Dive. "I don't like to think about it either, but not talking about a baby being born, even if that baby was in the ICU is just not heard of. What if Chloe…"

"Lost the baby." Grin had been silent all this time until now.

"It wouldn't be unheard of. The timing is amazing though. Losing a baby and then just a couple of months later, your best friend accidentally steals one out of a dimensional gateway?" Tanya murmured.

"It makes more sense when you think about my mom being best friends with Chloe. She'd know about the lost baby and, if I know my mother… and I do… she would do anything in her power to right a wrong. If my mom was the top scientist that you think she was…" he trailed off, glancing at Tanya, "then I think it's definitely a possibility that she was able to turn Anna into a duck."

"She did a hell of a good job then." Anna muttered, stretching her arms out, examining her arms as if seeing them for the first time.

"What about the coloring?" Duke asked, "I never would have figured her not being related to any one of the Thunderbeaks." He muttered.

"DNA." Tanya explained. "Chloe must have offered some up. She must have known about it."

"So how do we explain Jason looking so much like…" Wildwing trailed off.

"Canard?" Anna muttered. Wildwing nodded affirmatively.

"I have a theory for that as well. The DNA was already in Anna. The Thunderbeak DNA. I think Pretorius was testing himself to see if he could alter a human into a duck, and Anna has enough Thunderbeak DNA in her after all this time…" she trailed off, "and the fact that they're like…. You know… really sib, sibl… uh, brother and sister… that definitely had to help when merging their genetic codes." Tanya explained.

"That's what Pretorius was talking about." Wildwing thought back to what Pretorius had said about Anna matching nearly perfectly to the human he'd selected.

"So, as of right now it would seem… that we have another Thunderbeak." Duke murmured, glancing at the newest member of the ducks.

"Mmm. You know, I have thought about a name change." Jason murmured with a sly grin.

At that moment, Mallory appeared out of the elevator. She ran forward, drawing her gun and aiming at Jason.

"Whoa, Mal. Where's the fire?" Wildwing asked.

"We need to lock him up and call Klegghorn. Now." She ordered.

"What for?" Anna defended, stepping slightly in front of Jason.

Mallory's glare never left Jason. "he's a criminal!"

 _my god I hope that makes sense... if it doesn't can you do me a favor and just accept it anyways? lol I tried. I read it over and over again, hoping there were no holes... trying to make sure their stories added up... making sure they could get to the conclusions themselves without it being too forced. So... I hope you guys like and I feel like I just made it over a huge hill with this chapter. The genetic talk is over with (thank god... you know the last time I took biology was when I was a sophomore in high school? I mean, I took advanced bio my senior year but we covered most of the genetic shit sophomore year.) anywho, if you've stuck with me this far, thanks a bunch and I hope to get back on regular updates every Friday here shortly!_


	25. The Human Factor: pt 4

_author's note: first and foremost, I must severely apologize for not updating last weekend. Last Friday was move in day and things have been totally hectic. But... things are starting to mellow out around here so I'm hoping to start writing again more regularly. As always, thanks for sticking with me and as I said before, I'm hoping to get these chapters up every Friday... if not, at least by the end of the weekend! Anyways, hope you like this chapter and if all goes well, I'll have another one up next friday! :D_

* * *

"What in the hell?" Wildwing asked, walking over to Mallory. He rested a hand on her arms, trying to lower them but she whipped her arms away from him, her gaze never leaving Jason.

"Mallory, explain! Please!" Anna demanded.

"He's a criminal. 4 accounts of assault. 6 accounts of grand theft auto, 10 accounts of grand larceny-"

"Only ten?" Jason asked, looking confused. Mallory looked taken aback.

"And a murder charge!" she snapped, and everyone glanced back at Jason.

"Okay, let me explain." He started.

"Oh, you're going to explain now?" Mallory asked.

"Hear the guy out, Mal." Duke tried.

"Oh I know why you wanna hear him out, L'Orange." She snapped back at him.

"Mallory, calm down!" Anna ordered before turning back to her would-be brother.

"Jason, what's up. What are all these charges?"

"The larceny, the grand theft auto and the assault charges… they all happened. But the murder… it's not what you think." He shot a glare at Mallory as he said those last words.

"Records don't lie!" she snapped.

"Oh yes they do." L'Orange muttered. "I mean… they can't get everything right. Seems to me there's more than ten accounts of grand larceny." He smirked at Jason. Jason got a sheepish grin on his face.

"Okay. Grand Larceny and auto theft… those were just… just jobs. I had to make money somehow." He tried.

"Try getting a real job." Mallory shot at him.

"It's hard to get one of those when you're ten years old and living on the streets." He snapped back at her. Her eyes seemed to widen, and her weapon lowered.

"Streets?" Anna asked. Jason sighed out. Duke looked intently at Jason.

"They sent me to a foster home after mom died. And then they sent me to another one. And then another one. I got tired of moving around constantly."

"So, you ran away." Duke said for him. Jason nodded.

"I joined this band of homeless kids. We had to steal to survive. Those theft charges against me? They were all when I was young. My last felony was when I was sixteen. The commissioner had seen the life I'd lived and knew I was just a poor kid who needed a friend. A way out of the life I was leading. He took me in the last two years of my life before I became an "adult". Turned me around completely."

"What about the assault charges? The murder charge?" Mallory demanded, though by now she had holstered her weapon.

"When I was 17, I had a friend who was dating an abusive prick. So, I beat the shit out of him. I told the commissioner what was going on, and he dropped the charges on me. Two years later, three of the guy's friends recognized me and tried to jump me. I beat the shit out of them too." Duke smirked at Jason's words. He hadn't known the kid for long, and already he liked him.

"What about… the um…" Mallory trailed off.

"Murder charge?" he asked. She nodded. He sighed out.

"One day I came home to visit the old man. When I got home, the Police Commissioner was… was lying dead on the floor. The house had been burglarized, and I guess the old man had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was almost exactly how our mother died." He looked at Anna for a brief second, "The only thing was, was when I opened the door I saw the mother fucker crouched under the kitchen table. Obviously, I had walked in on the act. He jumped out the kitchen window and I found myself right on his trail. I caught up to him easily and when I did… I blacked out." He looked down.

"You killed him." Duke said slowly.

"Next thing I knew, one of the old man's buddies was pulling me off a bloody man. I don't know if he was dead then, or died of his injuries later." He paused for a moment, remembering the details.

"When Russell pulled me over to the ambulance, he told me that the old man had been able to call the attack in before he was murdered. Once again, the charges against me were dropped."

"You killed a cop killer. I'm surprised you didn't get a medal." Duke praised. Jason smirked lightly at him.

"Now you know. I do have charges against me. But you can't believe everything you read." He said to Mallory. Mallory glanced down guiltily.

"I guess I owe you an apology." She finally murmured. "But that doesn't mean I whole heartedly trust you." She added before stomping away to sit next to Tanya.

"Good enough for me." Jason said with a smile.

"Don't worry, she doesn't trust me either. Guess that makes you part of the team." Duke said with a chuckle as he wrapped an arm around Jason's shoulders.

"Part of the team?" he asked.

Wildwing looked uneasily before nodding.

"Of course. It would appear you're Anna's brother… because of the DNA that is now in you, you're a Thunderbeak… and we are the only talking ducks on the planet… and now that you are too, I guess that would make you one of us." Wildwing said with a smile.

Jason nodded before a smile formed across his beak.

"Part of the team." He said to himself. "Wait, am I going to have to play hockey? I mean… I think I skated once when I was 9 but-"

"Anna can teach ya that part, kid." Duke trailed off, putting a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Wait, me?" she asked suddenly. Duke started walking away.

"well yeah." He tried, facing her as he walked backwards towards the elevator.

"Why can't you teach him?" she shot at him.

"I ain't the coach." He smirked as the door the elevator closed. Anna huffed.

"So, Jason." Wildwing got his attention, "I'm sure you're probably exhausted from everything that's been happening. You're probably wanting to get home to recollect yourself. Maybe in the morning, Anna can start teaching you?" He offered.

Jason nodded.

"Yeah, sure. That would work." He said, glancing down at Anna.

"9 o'clock?" she asked. He nodded.

"yeah." He said, moving towards the elevator.

"Nosedive. You wanna show him the way out of here?" Wildwing asked. Nosedive nodded, having stayed quiet this whole time. He stood up, walking towards the elevator after Jason.

"I'll go with." Jess said suddenly, standing up from her spot as well.

"and show him the code to get in. I don't wanna be waking up to a false alarm tomorrow!" Wildwing called after them.

"I'll see you in the morning." Anna called after the ducks.

"Yeah, I'll see ya then." Jason replied as the elevator doors opened.

He got in, Nosedive and Jess following.

Tanya sighed out, standing up from her work bench.

"Tanya?" Anna asked.

"I'm exhausted guys. I'm going to uh, you know, turn in for the night." She said, also heading towards the elevator.

"Hold that elevator." Mallory called, having stood from her spot and walking after Tanya. Silently, Grin stood from his spot as well and followed.

"You guys coming?" Mallory asked as the doors opened for the ducks.

Anna went to go towards the elevator but Wildwing held out a hand in front of her.

"We'll catch up." He said. Mallory eyeballed him but shrugged, getting on the elevator with the others.

As soon as the others were gone, Anna gave Wildwing a look.

"What's up?" she asked. "Is this about Jason?" she asked, looking sheepish.

"No. What's going on with Oliver?" he asked.

"What?" she asked, looking taken aback.

"When I called you… when you were with him… you seemed somewhat stressed." He tried.

"It was nothing."

"I heard him grumble something like _oh great, it's Wildwing._ That doesn't seem like nothing. What has he got against me?" he asked.

"He's… possessive." Anna finally picked a word. Wildwing raised a concerned eyebrow.

"What's that gotta do with me?" he asked.

"He thinks you have a crush on me or something." Wildwing looked taken aback.

"Anna, I've known you since birth. You're like a sister to me." He tried.

"I know!" she exclaimed, "believe me, I tried to explain it to him. He seems to think that any male I encounter is competition for him."

"Anna, are you sure you should be-"

"No. I'm not." She admitted, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Not anymore."

* * *

The next day had Tanya putting the finishing touches on the mask while Jess helped.

"Well, it's as good as new." She announced, holding the mask up for Wildwing.

"This thing could have saved us a lot of trouble." Wildwing said, taking it.

"Yeah but, you know, it would have been a really boring show." Tanya muttered. Jess raised an eyebrow at the female.

"Hey Dive." Duke and Nosedive had obviously been talking about the events from the previous day as well, "I'm glad you've regained your faith in the human race."

"Hey, I'll admit when I'm wrong. The human race is ace!"

"Hey boobies!" at that moment, Phil ran in. "I got you on the cover of bird watchers monthly!" he announced with excitement.

"With… a few exceptions naturally." Nosedive muttered, crossing his arms.

"Hey, don't worry about it, kid. We're still not entirely sure if Phil is human." Duke murmured to the kid. Phil remained oblivious, reading his magazine as he walked away.

Anna stood in the corner next to Jason. She smiled halfheartedly as the ducks laughed at Phil. Duke saw her face.

"Hey." He got her attention, "anything wrong?" he asked. She grimaced, looking away.

"It's nothing." She murmured.

"Anything I can help with?" he offered, knowing she wasn't being completely honest with him.

Jason sensed this wasn't a conversation for him to be involved with and walked over to strike up a conversation with Nosedive.

"It's just… I don't know what to do… about Oliver."

"Did something happen?" he asked. She glanced past him to the other ducks. They were all involved in their own conversations, but Duke saw her hesitation and guided her away, towards the den. Once they reached the dark room, Duke turned on the tableside lamp. Anna sat on the couch and he took a seat next to her.

"What's up sweetheart?" he asked, draping his arm across the back of the couch casually.

"Oliver assaulted someone." She said hesitantly.

"What?" he looked surprised, "was it… one of those situations where it was self-defense? Or where he was protecting you?" all those times Duke had been ready to call the kid no good, yet here he was, trying to find rationality in the kid's behavior. Anna shook her head.

"Neither." She said, "he… he's been sounding a lot like Trent lately but, it's different."

"How so?" he asked.

"well, he's acting super possessive like Trent was, but Trent was doing it because he was cheating."

"You don't think Oliver's cheating?" Duke asked.

"This doesn't feel the same. This feels like a straight up obsession. I'm honestly a little scared. The assault happened because he thought a barista was flirting with me." She explained.

Duke rubbed his chin.

"I hate to say it, but you were right." She murmured, "I shouldn't have dated him."

"Sweetheart, that wasn't…. I mean, sure I didn't want to trust the kid but, never let what I think stop you from making your own choices. I'm glad you dated the kid." He said with a smile.

"You are?" she asked.

"Well sure. Everybody learns from mistakes. Nobody ever learns from getting it right the first time." He said simply. She rolled her eyes at him.

"You stole that from somewhere." She murmured.

"No! Honest to Drake Ducaine, that was a genuine Duke quote. They'll write it on my tombstone!" he insisted with a smile.

She laughed at him, before leaning into his side.

"Thanks Duke." She said, hugging around him. He smiled at the gesture before wrapping his arms about her, pulling her naturally into him.

"No problem." He murmured into her hair. They sat like that for a while, the rest of the world not existing to them. Duke finally cleared his throat. "So, what are you going to do? About Oliver?" he asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. It's gotta be soon though. The longer I drag this relationship out, the harder it'll be to get rid of him, especially if he gets even more possessive." She added. He nodded.

"If you need help-"

"Duke, I'm a big girl. I could handle Trent, and I'll take care of Oliver." She promised.

"The way I remember it, Trent got punched by your brother." Duke muttered. Anna laughed.

"Yeah, well, this isn't going to be like the break-up with Trent. This will be… a little different." She promised, standing up.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Gonna call Oliver and see if he wants to grab Ice cream."

"breaking up over ice cream. Nice, Anna. Ice cream is always a nice cushion." Duke approved, standing up after her.

"Told you I could handle myself." She smirked before skipping off towards the rec room.

* * *

Anna sat across from Oliver, barely touching her bowl of melting ice cream. Oliver noticed how quiet she was being and glanced over at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a smile. She smiled back with pity.

"Listen, Oliver I… I've got something on my mind." He noticed her serious tone and put the spoon back in his bowl, giving her his undivided attention.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Listen, I'm just feeling a little like I need to work on myself." _Lame Anna!_

"Hey, wait a second." Oliver stopped her, "That's a break-up line. You're breaking up with me?" he asked, his voice raising. Not many other people were in the ice cream parlor. In fact, one other person sat in the corner, a newspaper hiding their face.

Anna nodded, "I'm sorry, Oliver. This just isn't working out." She tried.

"Isn't working out? What's not working out? I mean, I'm crazy about you!" he insisted.

"Yes, I've noticed!" she snapped, "that's the issue!"

"What, I can't be crazy about my girlfriend?" he asked with hurt in his voice.

"You can be crazy in love with someone, yes. But you? You're crazy to the point you assault people for even looking at me!" she snapped.

"Anna, wait. You got that all wrong! He was practically drooling all over you!"

"So? I hardly noticed. That should have been your sign that you didn't have to worry about the drooling barista. Instead, you were so busy worrying about every other guy on the face of the planet, you forgot to worry about me." She said, standing up.

"Wait, Anna. Please. Give me another chance!" he pleaded, standing up and grabbing her arm.

"It's over Oliver." She snapped, pulling away.

"Please, Anna!" he grabbed onto her arm tighter. She grimaced.

"Owe." She tried to alert him. His eyes were crazy.

"Anna, you can't leave me!" he growled, glaring.

"Oliver, you're hurting me!" she insisted, trying to pull out of his vice grip.

"Good! You're hurting me!" he shot back at her, his eyes brimming with hot tears.

"Anna, I have to be with you! You're everything to me!" he insisted, pulling her towards him.

"Oliver, let go of me!" she hissed. Just then, somebody stepped between them, shoving Oliver away from Anna and back into his chair.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" Oliver snapped, glaring at the stranger.

"Duke?" Anna questioned, realizing who her trench coated savior was.

"The girl said it's over, so it's over." Duke ignored Anna's comment, his eyes never leaving Oliver.

Oliver glared at Duke.

"It can't be over. It's barely even begun! She belongs with me, and no one else!" he growled at the duck.

"Yeah, well, I don't really think that's your decision." Duke snarled back at the human. He turned around, wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulder, guiding her out. Oliver glared after them. He wanted to chase after them, but thought better on it. Duke was taller than he was, and probably better built. Oliver rolled his eyes, put down some money for the ice cream and stalked out the opposite door.

* * *

"You alright, sweetheart?" Duke asked once they had walked a couple of blocks.

"You know what, Duke?" she hissed, "No. I'm not!"

He looked taken aback, but glanced down at her forearm. Already, he could see bruises forming where Oliver had had a vice grip. He grabbed her arm to examine it, but she pulled away.

"I had it, Duke! I had it! Just once, would it be possible for me to take care of myself without my brother, or my brother's best friend, or Duke L'Orange stepping in to save the day?"

"He was hurting you." He snapped.

"Yeah, and I was just about to hurt him back!" she snapped back as they came up on the pond. She stalked inside, Duke hot on her trail.

"Now hold on, just a sec-" Duke cut himself off, seeing Jessica was heading their way. She wore a skintight blue dress that cut off just above her knees and her hair was done up with her bangs curled.

"Jess?" Anna asked. Jess gave Anna an interested look.

"What's going on?" Anna asked.

"Oh, I'm going on a date with Elliot." She explained.

"Elliot? Like… Oliver's friend?" Anna asked.

"yes!" Jess exclaimed. "Isn't it great? We can double date now!" she offered. Anna's face fell.

"Actually…" Anna trailed off and Jess got the message.

"Did you and Oliver break up?" she asked anyway.

Anna nodded. "But don't let my break-up ruin your chance for happiness." She said with a smile, "go have fun! And tell Elliot I said hi." She insisted. Jess nodded with a smile.

"Thanks Anna." She said, pulling her best friend into a hug. She then glanced back at Duke awkwardly. Anna saw Jess' look and partly smiled.

"I'll explain later." She said, letting Jess go. Jess nodded, scurrying past the two ducks and out into the night.

"What is it with you girls and dating humans?" Duke asked.

"As opposed to rubbing up against them and then taking them to hotels for one-night stands?" Anna said with an arched eyebrow before turning back around, heading for the elevator.

Duke rolled his eyes.

"At least I'm not dating humans. At least I'm not preparing to stay here for the rest of my life." He snapped.

"yeah, well, unless you've got a dimensional gateway hidden somewhere on your person, I suggest you take this little fact into consideration: Dragaunus is our only ticket home, and if you haven't noticed, we haven't captured him yet."

"What if you or Jess plans on getting married. Hypothetically speaking, the wedding is next week and tomorrow, we capture Dragaunus. What's gonna happen?" he asked.

"I get your point, Duke. Now picture this. What if something happens and we're forced to destroy the dimensional gateway?" Anna asked.

"No way." Duke murmured, "no way that would happen. Wildwing's smart. If it ever came to that, he'd figure out another way around it." He tried.

Anna pressed the button on the elevator.

"What if there was no other option?" she asked as they both got on the elevator. He sighed out.

"Then it better be a good reason to blow up our only ticket home." He muttered, and then he glanced back at her.

"Look, Anna. My point is you're dating people who aren't even the same species as you…" he drew out. Anna looked uncomfortably at him.

"I am not dating Nosedive." She said with a joking tone to her voice. Duke cracked a smile.

"Hey, I didn't say it. That was all you, sweetheart." He said as the elevator dinged. The two retreated down the hall towards their bunks.

"Listen, sweetheart. I'm sorry about cutting in." he said, stopping outside his door which happened to be next to hers.

"What were you doing there, anyways?" she asked.

"you had said he had become possessive. I'd seen it before. Sometimes when they get possessive, they get this idea that if they can't have you, nobody can. I didn't think he'd take the break-up well so… I followed you just in case things got out of hand." He admitted.

"Look, Duke. I'm still severely pissed you followed me without me knowing but… thanks. I'm glad you were there." She said with a smile. He nodded.

"No problem, sweetheart. Good night." He said, pushing a button and opening the door to his bunk.

"Good night." She said, mimicking his movements and moving into her own bunk.


	26. Beak to the Future: pt 1

"There ya go, Jace." Anna was skating backwards as Jason was skating towards her. Little by little, he was picking up speed. He smiled at her, and she was happy to see that he was enjoying this hobby that was considered a lifestyle on Puckworld.

"Alright, keep going." She said, stopping off to his side so she could watch him and point out anything that was keeping his form from being anything but perfect.

"Alright, straighten up a bit." She ordered, seeing he seemed to crouch forward a little bit. He did as he was told.

"Alright, you're uh… you're getting a little close to that wall there." She commented. He looked slightly worried as he had already picked up some speed.

"Turn, Jace." She tried.

"Anna, I don't know how!" he tried as he found himself sliding towards the wall.

"Shit… try to break!" she ordered, skating after him.

"These things have breaks!?" Came his terrified response before he smacked into a wall.

"Jace! Jace, you alright?" Anna rushed, coming up on Jason. Jason groaned, sitting up.

"Never better."

"Well…. I give you a 9 for speed, 7 for balance, and a 2 for direction…" she trailed off, grinning.

He rubbed his head, "Is that what it feels like to get boarded?" he asked as she helped pull him back to standing on the ice.

"actually, getting boarded hurts a lot worse. Imagine that, except there's a bigger guy right behind you slamming you into the boards." She tried as they skated towards the box.

"Ugh. No Bueno." He murmured.

"Huh?" she asked. He looked sheepish.

"Sorry. I meant, that's no good." He explained.

"Yo, Annie!" Nosedive appeared at the entrance as they reached the box.

"What's up, Dive?" she asked.

"Phil apparently set up a huge, life changing deal. Wildwing wants us all there just in case something happens." Dive explained. "remember what happened last time he was trying to make deals?"

"Yeah, and the scary part is this time he's not under any mind control."

"Or so we hope." Dive muttered. "Anyways, Wildwing wants us in the migrator pronto." He said, turning and taking off for the hangar. Anna glanced over at Jace.

"Good practice, bro. I'll see ya later. Duty calls." She said, taking off for the locker room to get changed.

"Yeah, see ya." He said, sitting down and beginning to untie his skates.

* * *

Wired fencing towered over the ducks as they walked through the gate. Smoke hung in the air, and the sky looked red through it. Wildwing led the group towards the towering dark building, Phil yapping his ear off. The group entered the elevator, traveling what easily could have been 30 floors. None of them had really paid attention. As the elevator dinged, Wildwing decided to voice his worries.

"I don't like the looks of this, Phil."

"Come on, just hear the guy out, Wildwing. He's someone we can do business with." Phil tried, walking backwards to talk to Wildwing as they continued down the hall, "Besides, when have I ever steered you wrong?" he then thought about what he'd just said, "don't answer that!"

"I'm getting bad vibes already." Grin groaned.

They stopped in front of a desk with a large backed chair turned away from them. The chair swiveled to reveal a thinner man with black hair petting a snake.

"The mighty ducks!" he greeted, "this is an honor. I'm Phineas P. Viper." He introduced.

"seriously?" Anna muttered under her breath. The guy's name was viper and he had snakes all over the place? Her comment received an elbow in her ribs from Jess.

"Interesting décor, mister Viper." Wildwing murmured with a raised eyebrow. Anna smirked at his comment.

"Snakes are my passion." Viper admitted, "they're excellent business men, you know? They wait for the proper time to strike before swallowing their opponent whole." He swung his snake around, wrapping it around his neck.

"but enough pleasantries. I want to buy your hockey franchise. Lot, stock and pond." He bent down, writing a number down on a piece of paper. "here's the amount I'm offering."

Wildwing took the piece of paper, looking it over. Phil hung over his shoulder, an obvious excited smile on his face.

"Well, that is a lot of money but… forget it." He said, tossing the paper in the air.

"Wildwing! Boobie!" Phil tried, catching the piece of paper out of the air, "be reasonable!" he begged.

"The mighty ducks aren't for sale." Wildwing said, grabbing Phil by his shoulder and dragging him out as the other ducks followed Wildwing's lead, leaving the building.

Once back at the pond, Anna rallied the troops for practice. She sat in the box, staring out at the ice.

"Babes, think about what you're doing! You're throwing away a fortune!" Phil tried. Tanya walked by, putting her helmet on.

"We are not doing business with that… that…" a word to describe him wouldn't come to her, but Nosedive popped into the conversation at that exact moment.

"I'm going out on a limb here… snake?" he asked, taking to the ice.

Anna tuned the remainder of the conversation out. It was the same old thing… Phil was after money… Wildwing wasn't giving in… etc.

She stared down at the ice, her face unreadable.

" _That's it! Anna, you're grounded!"_

" _You can't do that!"_

" _The hell I can't!" he growled, "you're going to go up to your room and think about the tone you just took with me!"_

" _Why don't you make me!" she shot at him._

" _Anna Marie, go to your room! Now!"_

 _She glared at him as tears entered her eyes. "I hate you." She growled, stomping towards the stairs._

"My lucky puck." Her attention was grabbed by Tanya digging in the puck bin, "the one I brought from Puckworld." She sounded like she might cry. Apparently, Duke had heard the tone in Tanya's voice as well.

"Hey, everything alright, kid?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a little home sick." She murmured.

"Hey, we've all felt that way. Earth's a little strange, but it isn't all bad." Duke tried.

"I just wish we could go home. You wouldn't find any Phineas Viper's on Puckworld." She murmured, dropping the puck on the ice as the ducks began practice.

"Yeah, unless you looked under a rock or something." Nosedive murmured, slapping the puck into play.

Mallory tuned into what the ducks were talking about. "we're not leaving until we capture Dragaunus!" she practically ordered, skating past Nosedive. Duke got ahold of the puck and shot it at Wildwing. As Wildwing stopped the puck, he commented on the conversation.

"more to the point, we can't." he murmured.

"Hey." Anna's attention was pulled from the practice as she saw her brother come and sit by her.

"Hi. I didn't know you were back." She murmured.

"What was that look?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Home." She murmured, and he looked taken aback.

"I wonder… do you think when you guys go back… to Puckworld, I mean… I would end up going with you?" he asked.

"Well, it's kind of up to you. But, honestly, I kind of just assumed you would. I mean, you're my brother and now you're a duck." She tried.

"True. I just… I haven't been with the team that long. I wasn't sure if…"

Jason's thought was interrupted by a beeping from all their coms. Wildwing opened his, silencing the beeping.

"Drake 1's picked up signs of teleportation energy." He announced as he did a quick change. The rest of the ducks followed suit, except for Jason who stood up, ready for a fight.

"We'll uh… we'll get you set up with that later." Anna murmured, running after the rest of the ducks with Jason toward the migrator.

* * *

The migrator pulled up to the chameleon and Siege blasting apart a jewelry store. Wildwing put the migrator into battle mode before firing a warning shot.

"We've got 'em by the scales now!" Mallory said with a hint of excitement.

A green blob of light suddenly appeared before revealing Dragaunus.

"Dragaunus!" there was surprise in Duke's voice.

Jason gave Anna a questioning look and she knew what he was wondering.

"it's not very often Dragaunus actually shows up to these fights. He usually lets his stooges do the work." Anna explained. Jason nodded, accepting that explanation.

"Annihilate him!" Mallory ordered.

"Wait! I admit defeat!" Dragaunus tried from his spot.

"What's he up to now?" Wildwing asked, crossing his arms.

"It's obvious I will never stop you. So, I'll make you an offer instead." He said, reaching into his robes. He pulled out a teleporter, setting it on the park bench beside him. "This teleporter is linked to my dimensional gateway generator. It's set for Puckworld. Use it! Return home, and leave the earth to me!" Dragaunus offered.

"All together now… it's gotta be a trap!" Nosedive said sarcastically. Wildwing activated the mask.

"He's on the level." He said after a second, "that thing's set for Puckworld."

"Let's do it, Wildwing. Please! Let's just go home!" Tanya begged.

"We'll vote on it. I say we stay." Wildwing said. "Grin?" he asked, turning his attention to the gentle giant.

"I'll have to meditate on the matter."

"I'll put you down as abstaining." He murmured, turning his attention to everyone else.

"Yeah this place is heinous, man. Let's get out of here." Dive said.

"No, we have to complete our mission!" Mallory insisted. "I say we stay."

"Hey, we've been away a year." Duke tried. Anna had to think about that. A year was a bit of a stretch, but she could understand why he stretched it out that much. It definitely felt like a year. "There could be other threats to Puckworld. We should be there to defend our home." Duke tried.

"Yes, but we're not done defending Earth… I say we stay." Anna tried.

"Maybe, but what exactly are we defending on earth? I have a little brother back on Puckworld. Who knows what's going on back home. I need to be there to defend my brother. I say we go home." Jess argued.

Jason hung back.

"Jason?" Wildwing asked.

"Hey, I've only been apart of this team for a couple of weeks. This is a big decision. I'm with the big guy… I am abstaining from this."

Wildwing sighed out, but obviously understood why Jason had made the decision he had.

"In that case… Tanya?" he grabbed the blonde's attention. "it's up to you."

"Oh well. Um, that's a lot of pressure I mean…. Okay, okay, I guess I'll vote for…" she never got her vote out as their attention was grabbed by the appearance of a rougher looking Phil holding a staff.

"It's a trap!" he exclaimed. "Grab onto this, if you want to live." He said, holding the staff out.

"Two movie references at once?" Anna asked under her breath with a raised eyebrow.

"Phil?" Mallory questioned. Everyone was obviously hesitating.

"Just do it!" Phil ordered. All at once, the ducks grabbed onto the staff and in an instant, the Migrator disappeared from the streets of Anaheim.

"Incredible!" Dragaunus exclaimed at the disappearance of the vehicle, "It appears someone else got rid of those meddling mallards for us."

"What if they turned you down?" Siege asked.

"The wraith would have blasted them to smithereens." He gestured to the other saurian, perched on top of the jewelry store with a bazooka.

"I never get to have any fun." The wraith murmured as the saurians disappeared from the scene in a flash of green light.

"Where are we?" Wildwing asked, looking out the windshield of the migrator. Buildings were toppled… the place looked deserted.

"Where do you think? Anaheim." Phil said.

"ten seconds ago, Anaheim did not look like a bomb hit it." Tanya said.

"Well it's not ten seconds ago. It's ten years from now." Phil crossed his arms, "you're in the future."

Nosedive leaned forward, a look of uncertainty on his face.

"Fellow ducks, we are seriously out of time."


	27. Beak to the Future: pt 2

_Author's note: oh my god, guys! I'm so so sorry about that small hiatus! Work has been crazy. We had three people all quit around the same time so I've been picking up extra shifts like no other and just haven't been able write at all... Hopefully I'll have some time here soon to continue writing though, because as of right now as I post this chapter I am no longer ahead and don't have the next chapter written. Here's hoping, though, I'll be able to find time to write for you guys though, because I've got some juicy plot points coming up I know you all are just going to love!_

"Hold up. Let me see if I've got this straight. You're Phil Palmfeather, our manager. And that thing…" Wildwing took a second to point to the staff Phil held, "it's a time machine?" he asked.

"You've got it babe. You're ten years in the future." Phil informed once again.

Anna sat in the back, staring at nothing. She looked slightly out of it and only came back to the present (if this could be called the present?) when she heard Phil's panicked voice.

"Hunter drone!" he warned. A red vehicle, definitely designed by Dragaunus, stopped in front of them. Hunter drones exited the vehicle, their arms turning into the regular blasters they were used to.

"You are blocking traffic. Remove this vehicle at once!" it ordered, firing on the migrator.

"Whoa, talk about strict!" Nosedive said.

"Yeah, I guess they're not much for writing citations around here." Anna muttered next to him.

The migrator was switched to battle mode by Mallory at that moment, and the ducks fired back at the drones. In a matter of minutes, the vehicle was destroyed as Wildwing high tailed it out of there, heading towards the only place he could think to go… the pond.

"What is going on here?" Wildwing asked.

"What do you think? Dragaunus won!" Phil explained. "He conquered the planet."

"Awe man, it's Puckworld all over again." Nosedive muttered.

Anna agreed, glancing out the window as they drove by streets. She saw a street corner that sparked something in her memory. On the corner of the street stood a rundown ice cream shop that was extremely identical to an ice cream shop back on Puckworld…

The ice cream shop seemed to change for Anna… it went from looking rundown to looking just like the one from Puckworld. A duck came walking down the street holding his daughter's hand. The duck looked like Canard but was older… and his eyes were blue where Canard's were brown. The little girl had pigtails in her long brown hair as she skipped alongside her father.

The bell on the door rang as Pochard entered the shop with his daughter.

"What can I get for you, sir?" a kid, no more than 20 years of age, wearing an apron, stood on the other side of the counter. He was polite, waiting for the customers to make their choices.

"I think I'll get two scoops of the mint chocolate chip." Pochard said with a smile before tilting his head down. "Anna?" he asked, meeting his daughter's gaze. Anna smiled.

"Same thing!" she blurted out with excitement. She had so much energy already, hopping around her father's legs that Pochard almost took back the ice cream order.

"Anna!" came a stern voice and she stopped hopping around. It wasn't an angry voice, more of a reminder voice.

"Oh, uh… same thing, _please_." She said, meeting the young adult's gaze. The kid smiled, obviously having a soft spot for kids. It didn't take long for the two ducks to get their ice cream and walk out the door.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Anna was pulled out of the memory by Phil's voice as the migrator pulled abruptly over on top of a mound of dirt as something trailed underneath the road.

"Whoa! This town has a humungous gopher problem!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"That's no gopher. It's an enforcer." Phil explained, "just pray you don't meet one face to face"

Wildwing got the migrator going again down the road and not a minute went by before Duke pointed out the window.

"Whoa, look at that! A master tower!" he exclaimed.

"But if Dragaunus is gone, who's running the planet?" Mallory asked.

"Dragaunus is gone?" Anna partly whispered. The only ones to catch her comment were Jason and Duke who both gave her a look as Phil answered Mallory's question.

"That, boobula, is the zillion dollar question." Phil informed. "whoever he is, he's in there, running the whole world."

"Anna? You feel ok?" Jace asked, grabbing her attention.

"Yeah, I just… spaced out for a second."

"How could you space out at a time like this?" Duke asked. Nosedive picked up on the conversation just then.

"Spacing out now is like spacing out when roses are being passed out during the bachelorette." Nosedive added.

Everyone in the migrator seemed to be staring at Nosedive in sheer horror.

"What? I don't watch it! I just catch an episode here and there from time to time! Sheesh!"

"Right." Jess muttered beside him as everyone else turned their attention back to the road ahead.

"well, here we are. The good ol' pond." Phil muttered as they pulled up to a giant hole in the ground.

"The pond is gone?" Wildwing asked.

"Are you kidding? It's the first thing Dragaunus hit!" Phil explained.

"Of course, there's one part he didn't get…" he said, opening the door to the migrator to lead the ducks underground.

* * *

Phil led the ducks beneath the pond, where headquarters were set up. It looked worn down, but it was still the pond they remembered.

"Meet the Resistance." Phil introduced, motioning to three scientists who stood around working on something.

"Are you kidding, those three couldn't stop a fly!" Mallory exclaimed. Tanya cleared her throat, leaning on the console behind the red head.

"Excuse me! Brains beats brawns any day. So, who's the leader?" Tanya asked.

"You're looking at him!" he said with pride.

"Oh, this planet's doomed." Tanya murmured.

Anna stared at the scientists hard at work, not truly seeing them.

"I have one request if you are to have me as your leader," her brother's voice was suddenly echoing in her head, "I want Anna as my second in command."

She then suddenly saw her living room.

"Dad, I don't want to talk about this right now." A much younger Canard snapped.

"Canard, you're graduating in two years. Now is the perfect time to talk about it." Pochard tried.

"Dad… it's two years."

"It never hurts to start training and planning ahead." Pochard murmured.

"But dad, the army?" Canard asked incredulously.

"Canard, there haven't been any wars in forever. There isn't any fear going on in the country right now that even suggests there could be a war soon."

"then why join?" he asked.

"Free education."

"Now, you see, that's abuse of the system."

"And you'd be a fool not to take advantage." Pochard snapped.

"But I don't want to join the army! Free education or no. I don't even know what I wanna do with the rest of my life. Maybe whatever I come up with doesn't even need a college degree. Then I would have joined the army for nothing." He snapped back, "what if I wanted to become a cop like my old man?" Canard pushed. Pochard bit his tongue. Canard knew Pochard was afraid of his children becoming cops. It was a dangerous job in this city, and he knew the last thing Pochard wanted was for his children to one day end up on the wrong side of some low life's gun.

"Well then, in that case, the army would better prepare you for that job." Pochard didn't miss a beat. He knew Canard was bluffing, but a part of him was still taken aback by the mention.

"Whatever. I'm not joining the army!" Canard snapped, storming upstairs. Pochard sighed out, looking over at his ten-year-old daughter who had heard the whole argument from the couch.

"Anna?" it wasn't her dad's voice she heard. It was Duke's. The vision of her living room and her father dissolved, and she was suddenly back in the musty underground base with Duke's worried gaze fixated on her.

"You alright, kid?" Duke asked. She blinked a couple of times before nodding.

"Um, yeah." She glanced around, seeing the other ducks were waiting on her. Phil was carrying what looked to be an explosive. She'd blanked out again. Why did she keep doing this?

"Let's go." She said, realizing that was the reason they were staring at her.

Once in the migrator, Duke grabbed her attention.

"Anna?" he asked, waiting for her to look at him, "what's going on. You had me worried back there."

"Worried?" she asked.

"You were just staring at nothing. Wildwing ordered us to move back out to the migrator, and you just stood there, staring at Drake 1's console."

"Sorry." She murmured.

"What's going on, sweetheart? Something's up." He guessed.

"I think I'm just tired. You know, blanking out from exhaustion or something." She explained.

"Well, maybe you should try to take a nap." Duke tried.

"Take a nap? Now?" she asked.

"Well, you're not much help to us the way things are going now. You couldn't cue in that Dragaunus wasn't even on the planet anymore. You blanked out when we were talking about setting up an explosive in the master tower. I mean, maybe a nap would help for when we reach the tower. For when we really need you to focus in." he tried.

She nodded slightly. "maybe…" she trailed off, not meeting his gaze.

"Anna, sleep." Duke tried again.

"Duke's right, Anna. The master tower is still a little ways out. Some shut eye might do you some good." Wildwing said from the front, having tuned into their conversation.

Anna finally nodded, some sort of confirmation coming over her that it was ok to take a nap now that her leader had told her to.

Wildwing turned his attention back to Phil.

"Phil, there's just one thing I don't understand. Why'd you have to get us? Why aren't we here?" Anna felt herself drifting off to Wildwing's voice.

"I don't know how to tell you this," Phil paused, "but you were destroyed."

"what?" Mallory exclaimed. For some reason, this information didn't alarm Anna. She felt numb to this world. Numb to everything that was happening around her.

"Let up on the brake." A younger Anna was sitting in the driver's seat with her dad in the passenger seat. Anna let up as the car lurched forward. She gasped, slamming her foot back on the brake.

"It's alright, kiddo. Just ease off it." Pochard tried. Anna peered over the steering wheel before taking a deep breath. She let up off the brake and let the car move on its own.

"There you go. Now, give it a little gas. Don't go over ten…" he trailed off. Anna did as she was told, but gave it too much gas, sending the car forward. She gasped, stomping on the brake again.

Pochard chuckled. They were sitting in an abandoned parking lot. The business they were sitting at was closed on Sundays.

"it's alright, kiddo. We're just getting a feel for it right now. Gently touch the gas pedal." She did as she was told and steadily, the car began to accelerate.

"There you go. Now, turn to the left here." He said, keeping her in the lines so she could work on placement of the vehicle.

"And, let's park it right over here." He pointed to a spot and she pulled into it nicely.

She smiled up at him and he beamed at her.

"Not bad for a very first drive, kiddo. Not bad at all." He praised. She smiled wider, so happy that her dad was proud of her.

"Anna." She was pulled from her thought… or dream (she couldn't tell)… by Duke's voice.

"What's wrong? Are we there?" she asked, sitting up quickly.

"No, we're not. Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Why?" she asked.

He traced a thumb beneath her eye and when he pulled his thumb away, she could see he had collected a tear. Had she been crying?

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" he asked again. His concern was obviously growing. Anna glanced around.

"Where… where are Nosedive, Grin and Jess?" she asked suddenly.

Duke looked like he was lost for words.

"We stopped at the mall and they got taken by mutants." Jason explained for Duke. Anna shook her head, forgetting that Jason had been sitting next to her this whole time.

"What? Then what are we doing still driving? We have to get back to the mall! We have to save them!" she tried.

"Anna, it's alright. Grin can take care of them." Duke tried.

"Duke's right. If we'd stayed to try to get them back, we risked losing the explosive. Without the explosive, this world wouldn't stand a chance in this fight." Wildwing explained from the front again. He was really good at tuning into the conversations at the right time.

At about that moment, the migrator came to a stop.

"You uh… want I should pick the lock?" Duke asked.

"There's no time for finesse." Wildwing murmured, hitting a button and blowing up the door. The side doors on the migrator opened.

"Anna, are you ready?" Wildwing asked, stopping at her chair. She nodded.

"Are you absolutely sure. If you aren't 100%... you don't have to go in there. I don't want you going in there." He voiced his worries. She stood up, nodding.

"I'm fine, Wildwing. Let's do this." She said, walking out the open door. He looked taken aback, but shook it off, telling himself she'd be fine before following her out.

"We'll take it on foot from here." Wildwing ordered once outside. Sensing that they were missing a member of the team, he glanced back to the door.

"Come on, Phil! Let's move!" he barked.

"Hey, the whole reason I spent 10 years bringing you here was so that you could do this. I'll uh, keep the motor running." Phil said sheepishly, ducking back inside.

Wildwing groaned before ushering the ducks forward.

"Good ol' Phil. He never changes." Duke murmured.

"You mean that's how Phil is in our timeline too?" Jason asked.

"Oh yeah, you haven't spent much time with Phil, have ya?" Duke realized. Jason shook his head.

"Consider yourself lucky." Anna murmured as the ducks pressed forward.

* * *

Jess, Nosedive and Grin were tied up in the center of a cave like structure, with the mutants surrounding them.

"What are they gonna do to us?" Jess suddenly asked.

"Nothing." Grin said simply.

"Boy! Confidence isn't one of your problems, is it?" Nosedive remarked.

"You are outcasts. Shunned. I feel your pain." Grin started saying to the mutants.

At about that moment, they heard a voice shout out for the mutants to stop.

"Oh boy, sounds like the big boss."

"No… it sounds like…" Jess trailed off as two of the mutants came into view.

"Nosedive?"

"Thrash? Mookie?" Nosedive asked.

"Duh!" came Mookie's response.

"But, you're terribly disfigured hideous mutants…" Nosedive said.

"Yeah, ain't it cool!" Thrash exclaimed as he and Mookie began untying the ducks.

* * *

"There's the main power chamber! Mallory, Duke, Anna. Set the explosive! Come on Tanya!" Wildwing ordered, skating off in the opposite direction with Tanya on his heels.

"Where are you going?" duke asked.

"To change the course of history!"

Wildwing and Tanya pulled up to a door, which Wildwing pried open.

"The command chamber." He said as they both entered. Tanya raced over to a computer and began typing.

"This data has the history for the last ten years."

"Can you access secret files?" Wildwing asked.

"Hey. Hacker is my middle name!" Tanya chuckled. Then she slightly muttered, "actually it's, you know, uh… Gertrude."

"There's something we've gotta find. There!" he said, pointing at the screen.

"So that's how Dragaunus conquered the earth. 24 hours after Phil brought us here."

"Do you know what that means? The mystery man running the planet is Phineas Viper." They turned around to see the command chair swivel, revealing the mystery man.

"A great deduction." He said, coming into full view. He had scales, and snakes for arms. Seeing the looks on the ducks faces, he figured he would explain his "new" look to them.

"Dragaunus left me much technology, including his DNA accelerator. It enabled me to merge with my beloved snakes." He smiled at the ducks hungrily. "Now. How about a power lunch?"

He moved from the chair, coming down over the rails, shooting lasers from the mouths of his snake arms.

Tanya glared. "I always knew Viper was a snake!"


	28. Beak to the Future: pt 3

"Come on, make it snappy L'Orange! Before more hunter drones show up." Mallory rushed. It was only a few seconds later when the doors slid open. Anna stared for a second at the room within.

"Hey…" Duke stopped, turning back. He snapped his fingers in front of her face and she blinked.

"Yeah?" she asked quickly.

"come on. Let's get to work." He ushered her, Mallory following close behind.

* * *

"There's just one thing puzzling me…" Viper delayed his assault on Tanya and Wildwing. "How did you ducks get here from Puckworld?"

"Puckworld?" Tanya questioned.

"Dragaunus sent you there with a teleporter ten years ago." Viper explained further.

"But Phil said-"

"Phil said he wasn't sure." Wildwing finished for Tanya. "which means…"

"All of this happened because of me!" Tanya realized, her eyes going wide. "I casted the deciding vote. Suddenly I wish I would have kept my beak shut about being homesick." She said, grabbing her head.

"No matter." The viper interjected, "you won't be on this planet for very much longer. Meet… my enforcer!" on cue, the ground shook as a giant snake burst through, hissing all the way.

"Giant snake!" Tanya exclaimed before realizing what she'd said. "oh, should have seen that one coming!"

"You know, actually I kind of did." Wildwing muttered as they both parted ways, attempting to avoid the snake.

The two ducks put up a good fight, but the pucks they fired were doing little to no damage against the giant reptile.

"Our pucks aren't harming it! What are we going to do?" Tanya exclaimed as they took off running from the snake as it lunged at them. Wildwing opened his com as they ran.

"Phil! We're in trouble!"

* * *

The mutated Thrash and Mookie led Nosedive and Grin down a long tunnel deep underground.

"So, where'd you get the berserk-o face lifts?" Nosedive asked.

"Nosedive!" Jess hissed under her breath, finding his comment slightly insensitive. Nosedive cringed at his name, but Thrash and Mookie didn't seem to catch it or care about Dive's question.

"Dragaunus zapped half the planet with DNA accelerators. Everyone's genes like totally freaked out. Now, we're warriors of the wasteland, man!"

"Yeah, we scavenge for food. Make hit and runs against the hunter drones…" Mookie trailed off as they reached the entrance to a slightly smaller tunnel.

"Oh, there it is!" she exclaimed, "the master tower. It's right at the end of the tunnel, you can't miss it."

"Yeah, but you gotta watch out for the giant snakes." Thrash warned, shuddering as some type of roar was heard in the distance.

"I didn't know snakes roared." Jess commented, a hint of skepticism and worry coming across her face.

"Apparently giant ones do." Dive shot back at her.

"I'll handle it." Grin said, picking up a rope and moving towards the entrance.

"Grin! That thing is gonna swallow you whole!" Mookie warned.

"Stay mellow. Animals like me." He promised, taking off down the tunnel.

The others hung back for a second.

"So… do we follow him?" Nosedive asked sheepishly.

"Ha, be my guest." Jess said sarcastically, waving him down the tunnel.

"Come on!" Thrash beckoned them, finally following Grin. The rest followed, although they all stayed a tiny bit behind Grin as he went hunting for a giant snake.

* * *

"Alright, that's it!" Mallory announced.

"Good, let's skedaddle out of here. I don't like the looks of this place." Anna murmured. The other two nodded in agreement as they took off for the exit. They made it out to where the migrator was parked in record time, except there was one problem. There was no migrator.

"Where's the migrator?" Mallory asked the question that was on all their minds. A hunter drone vehicle suddenly poked its front end over the hill, instantly firing.

"Take cover!" Mallory ordered.

She took off for a giant rock that sat to the side of the entrance. Duke grabbed Anna's hand, jerking her in that direction. They got behind the rock, glancing around the corners.

"No way. We don't have enough firepower for that." Anna said, pointing in that direction with her thumb.

"The migrator does." Duke murmured.

"yes, well if you haven't noticed…" she waved her hand around as if to show the empty space where the migrator should be.

* * *

The migrator pulled up on Wildwing and Tanya, both being duck handled by the giant serpent.

"The cavalry's here!" Phil announced as he pulled to a stop.

"Freeze pucks Phil!" Tanya instantly ordered, "the cold is lethal to snakes."

"Uh, got it!" Phil said, pulling a lever. Instantly, the migrator started moving up and down on it's axels.

"No! The red button! The red button!" Wildwing ordered hastily.

"Whoops." Phil said, setting the migrator back down. He instantly found the red button, opening fire on the snake. The snake hissed as the cold hit its scales. The pain caused it to lose its grip on Wildwing and Tanya.

"Let's get out of here!" Wildwing ordered as they both raced into the migrator.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Tanya said behind him.

* * *

Duke, Mallory and Anna were doing their best firing on the hunter drones. Bits of stone flew around them as the blasters from the hunter drones hit the rock.

"I don't know how much longer this rock can hold out." Anna worried.

"Oh, come on. She can still take a few more-" Duke was cut off as a blast from the vehicle exploded the rock into pieces around them. "hits…" he said sheepishly, trailing off.

"Great! We're sitting ducks!" Anna exclaimed. Duke and Mallory both shot her an irritated glare. She looked taken aback. "well we are!"

At that moment, the ground shook as what looked like a gopher trail formed from out of the master tower. A snake shot out of the ground, Nosedive Grin and Jess on it's back.

"Whoo! Ride em, Grinster!" Nosedive exclaimed. The snake lunged for the hunter drone's vehicle, almost instantly destroying it and getting the other three ducks out of danger.

"Grin! How did you ever tame that thing?" Mallory asked as they regrouped.

"Animals REALLY like him." Nosedive explained.

"Where are the others? The bomb's about to go off!" Duke exclaimed, bringing them back to the situation at hand.

"There they are." Mal pointed as the migrator was seen coming out of the master tower.

The ducks climbed aboard and Wildwing swiveled around to see Nosedive, Grin and Jess.

"Where'd you guys come from?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I guess you could say we… slithered over." Nosedive smirked, taking a seat.

In a matter of seconds, the master tower was exploding as the migrator drove safely away.

The ducks and Phil stood on a street corner as Phil handed Wildwing the staff.

"It'll take you back 5 minutes after you left your time." Phil explained.

"we'll only have 24 hours to prevent this future from happening. You sure you set it right!" Wildwing growled back at Phil.

"Hey, when have I ever let you down?" Phil asked.

"Phil… please. Please! Don't say that." Duke murmured.

The ducks held onto the staff, sending them back to a present-time Anaheim.

Mallory glanced up at the clock. "It's exactly five minutes after we left!" she exclaimed.

"Question…" Anna trailed off as she got everybody's attention.

"Why, when Phil of the Future decided to kidnap us, didn't we just flip right around and come right back to this time?" she asked.

"Well, because we had to help that future. We had to help them blow up the master tower." Wildwing explained.

"Ok, understandable. But hear me out… Imagine if we would have spent five minutes hanging out with future Phil, and then flipped right back around and came back and prevented Dragaunus from ever taking over the planet. I mean, then technically that master tower wouldn't even exist because Dragaunus would never have built it."

"Oy, time travel hurts my head." Nosedive muttered, rubbing his head at Anna's words.

"You're telling me." Jason muttered.

"You know… she's kind of got a point. I mean, this episode was kind of pointless…" Tanya trailed off.

"It doesn't matter now. We're back in the present and we've gotta stop that future from happening." Wildwing huffed.

"Uh, guys… today's Friday, right?" Nosedive asked.

"that's right." Duke muttered.

"Well, according to this…" Nosedive nodded to the paper he had picked up off the bench, "it's Saturday!" he exclaimed.

"Phil's settings were a whole day off!" Tanya slapped her forehead.

"Which means we don't have 24 hours to stop Dragaunus!" Duke exclaimed.

"More like 24 seconds." Mallory agreed. They all piled into the migrator, heading back to the pond. Wildwing knew they needed the aerowing for this mission.

Once in the aerowing, almost everyone had the same question on their mind. Duke was the one to voice it.

"How is Dragaunus going to conquer the world on such short notice?"

"he and Viper built a super weapon." Wildwing explained what he and Tanya had found in the future, "and it's about to launch."

"What super weapon?" Mallory asked as they reached Viper's headquarters.

"See for yourself." Wilding motioned ahead of them. Two cargo like doors opened and a saurian warship rose out from below.

"Whoa! It's a mega jumbo super raptor!" Dive exclaimed.

"And this one doesn't need Balerium crystals for power!" Wildwing added.

Wildwing could see Dragaunus was getting in position to conquer the world and veered the aerowing in front of the raptor, grabbing the lizard's attention.

"We're never going to be able to stop that thing!" Nosedive exclaimed.

"Oh yes we will." They all turned back to see Tanya already had a jetpack on. "I saw the plans for that thing in the future. I know it's weak spot."

"Now, we've gotta distract them." Wildwing informed them, before turning back to raise an eyebrow at Anna. "Still think this episode was pointless?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She waved him off but stuck out her tongue at him after he'd turned back around.

"I saw that." He murmured, flying low and just barely missing a shot from Dragaunus. He couldn't see where Tanya had gone, but in a matter of seconds, the new raptor was smoking and soon it was losing air.

Tanya reentered the ship shortly after, just in time to see the raptor go crashing down on Viper's fortress.

"Huh. I've never seen karma work so fast." Jason muttered.

"I can see the headlines now… Viper fortress destroyed by own creation…" Jess started, "there'll be a little excerpt of Viper saying, 'I don't know what happened… something must have malfunctioned'"

Anna rolled her eyes but laughed with her friend none the less.

"I love that though," Nosedive piped up, "we put that snake out of business twice in one episode." He looked proud, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

* * *

Once back at the pond, Tanya had a thought as they entered the elevator.

"Do you really think we stopped that future from happening?" she asked.

"Maybe. But as long as Dragaunus is loose, the future is always in doubt." Wildwing answered as the doors to the elevator opened to the rec room.

"that was slightly dramatic." Anna whispered to Jess, who snickered at the comment.

"You know of all the things we encountered in the future, the one that amazes me most is Phil!" Duke piped up.

"Yeah. Leading the resistance, and actually showing some courage." Mallory agreed.

"Yeah, guess there's hope for that guy yet." Nosedive agreed as they all walked up on Phil who sat hunched over the keyboard of Drake 1.

"Where have you been?!" Phil exclaimed, standing up once he realized the ducks were there, "do you realize you missed a photoshoot? I got you a spread in _Duck Hunters Quarterly_ , and you blew it!"

Everyone sighed in annoyance as Wildwing crossed his arms.

"Well, give him another ten years." He muttered, rolling his eyes.

Anna turned, walking away from the group in that moment. The mission was over, and she wasn't quite feeling like herself.

Duke noticed her walking away and cocked his head. What was going on with Anna? Wildwing seemed to read his mind as he came to stand by Duke, looking down the hallway.

"She uh, she tends to get like this sometimes. Especially this time of year." Wildwing explained.

"What do you mean? She's acted like this before? And this time of year?"

Wildwing sighed, "we're coming up on the anniversary of her dad's death. Since she was twelve, she sometimes does this. And it doesn't happen all the time. If she has a bad year… that year she broke her leg, she resorted back into this sort of behavior. The year she was varsity for hockey… senior year… this didn't happen at all."

"What happens?" Duke asked.

"I don't really understand it, but it's almost the same thing every time. She blanks out. Stares at nothing. Teacher's would get worried and call Chloe all the time. It's like, I don't know, some form of PTSD."

"How do you snap her out of it?" Duke asked.

"You don't. She'll do this for about a week. Maybe two. And then near the end of the second week, she stops staring off into space and she's back to almost normal."

Duke stayed silent for a moment. Wildwing heaved another sigh, "her father's death took a lot from everybody. Dive and I considered him a second father. Canard was devastated. Stayed out of school for three weeks. Nobody saw him. But Anna… she changed that day."

* * *

 _March 26_ _th_ _, 1991_

Anna practically skipped into the house, smiling all the way.

"You're cheery." Canard muttered, pulling a couple of plates out of the cupboard. Her dad was sitting at the kitchen table looking over a newspaper while her mom hovered over the stove. She could smell whatever was cooking.

"I just got invited to a slumber party." She announced, giddily.

"When exactly is this party?" Pochard asked, glancing over his paper.

"Tomorrow night." She slightly hesitated.

"Now, kiddo, you know tomorrow is family night." He tried.

"please, daddy? I mean what's the harm of me missing one family night?" she tried.

"Who's throwing the party?" Chloe asked, turning around.

"Becky Terrine." Anna informed.

"Becky?" Canard perked his head up. "She's like fifteen. How'd you get invited to that party?" Canard wasn't being mean, he was just pointing out how close in age he was to Becky compared to his baby sister.

"Canard?" Chloe asked, waiting for him to explain. He cleared his throat, glancing at Anna.

"The Terrine sisters have always thrown the hottest slumber parties the school has ever seen. Becky is fifteen. She has a younger sister, and two older sisters. One is eighteen, the other is 23, and the youngest is…" he trailed off, glancing at Anna, "Twelve." He cocked his head at his baby sister.

"Are you friends with Barbara?" he asked her.

"Kind of. We just started hanging out a couple of weeks ago. But she told me about Becky's party and asked if I wanted to go." Anna explained.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Canard muttered.

"Neither do I." Pochard said, setting the paper down and walking over to his daughter.

"But daddy, I-"

"No buts, Anna. You belong here on Family night anyways, not at some slumber party with a bunch of girls we don't even know." He tried.

"Dad, it's not a big deal." She tried, shrugging it off.

"It is to me, Anna!" Pochard raised his voice. "Who knows what's going to be happening at this party?"

"It's just a party. We'll probably paint our toenails, watch movies, and talk about boys." Anna tried.

"Anna, I don't care. I don't know these girls or their parents. Are their parents going to be home tomorrow night?" he asked.

"I didn't ask, but I'm sure they will be." Anna tried.

"That's not a for sure answer. You're not going Anna."

"God, why can't you just let me go!" she suddenly shot at him. Canard and Chloe's eyes bulged and Pochard looked genuinely shocked as he turned around to meet her gaze. She and Pochard never fought like this. Usually, she was good about respecting his decision.

"Because I'm the parent, and I said no!" he spat, narrowing his eyes.

"Dad, loosen the grip. I am not your little girl anymore!" she never once budged.

His eyes went wide, and he almost looked hurt.

"Anna, I don't know where this attitude came from, but it had better stop now." He growled.

"Or what?" she pushed.

"Anna, don't do that…" canard warned off to the side quietly.

"That's it! Anna, you're grounded!"

"You can't do that!"

"The hell I can't!" he growled, "you're going to go up to your room and think about the tone you just took with me!"

"Why don't you make me!" she shot at him.

"Anna Marie, go to your room! Now!"

She glared at him as tears entered her eyes. "I hate you." She growled, stomping towards the stairs.

Pochard sighed out, looking down. Chloe finally moved from her spot, going towards her husband. She tilted his head up to meet his gaze.

"What did I do wrong?" he whispered to her.

"Nothing, sweetie. She'll come around." She tried. Pochard nodded, but Chloe could see how hurt he was.

"I'm… I'm going to go for a walk." He said, reaching behind to grab his jacket.

"But honey, dinner's almost ready." She tried, motioning to the stove.

"I won't be long. I just need to get out. Clear my head." He promised. She nodded, reaching up and kissing his cheek. He gave her a big hug.

Canard watched his dad walk out the door before his mom turned back to look at him.

"That was a beautiful mess." She muttered, going back over to the oven.

Canard sighed out, climbing the stairs. He stopped outside Anna's bedroom, knocking.

"Go away!" came the angry retort.

"Come on, kiddo. It's me, your favorite brother ever!" he called. Nothing was said until Anna opened the door. There were tear streaks going down her face. She glared at him as she turned back around, leaving the door open and laying stomach first back on her bed. She grabbed her pillow, burrowing half of her face in it.

"You're my only brother, fathead." Anna muttered, rolling her eyes at him. He chuckled, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.

"Hey, what happened down there?" he asked.

"You know, I'm not really sure." She admitted. "I just… I really want to go to that party tomorrow night." She explained.

"Why? There'll be other parties." Canard tried. Anna sighed out.

"If I tell you something, you promise you won't tell mom or dad?"

"Sibling honor." He said, raising his hand.

"Jensen Rayburgh is going to be there tomorrow night." She explained.

"At a girl slumber party?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She sat up, shaking her head.

"It's not an all girl slumber party. It's just a High School Party. Anybody who's anybody is going to be there. Including Jensen."

"Anna, you can't get all worked up over some boy. Especially at your age." He tried.

"You get worked up over Becky." Anna shot at him.

"That's besides the point." He muttered. Then a look crossed his face. "Wait a second, why the hell wasn't I invited if it's not really a slumber party?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'm obviously cooler than you." She said, smiling at him. He shook his head, pulling her into a hug.

"Listen, kiddo. Take it from me, it's just a party. And honestly, how good could it be if your awesome big brother isn't even attending?" he tried. She sighed.

"Yeah, well, I'm not going now anyways. So, I guess I'll agree with you. How good could it be?" she asked.

"That's the spirit. Now come on. Dinner's about ready." He said, standing up. She hesitated.

"What?" he asked.

"Dad's probably pissed at me." She murmured. His eyebrows creased.

"He's hurt." He said, "he left to go on a walk after your little spat." He explained. She sighed out, looking down.

"I shouldn't have said what I did. I didn't mean it." She revealed.

"I know you didn't, kiddo. I know." Canard said, pulling her into a hug. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

As they reached the bottom of the steps, Anna found herself glancing at the door.

"Anna?" Chloe walked over, placing a hand on her daughter's back. "Come eat, sweetie."

"But, what about dad?" she asked.

"He'll be back soon. He just needed to cool down." Chloe tried. Chloe turned to walk towards the kitchen, hoping her daughter would follow.

"No. I gotta go find him. I've gotta apologize." She said, grabbing her jacket and taking off out the door.

"Anna!" Chloe called, rushing towards the door. Canard ran up behind her.

"Don't worry, mama. I'll go get her." He said, starting to take off. Chloe put a hand on his shoulder.

"No. She knows her father's route. If she catches up to him, this will be a conversation they need to have." Canard looked like he wanted to protest but sighed out.

"Yeah, alright mama."

"come on, no reason for our food to get cold before those two get back."

"Dad!" Anna called, walking down the streets. He couldn't have gotten that far ahead of her, "Dad!" she cupped her hands, around her beak, attempting to make her voice louder.

"Marco!" she tried, referring to a game they would play. Still no response.

"Pochard Thunderbeak!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. The wind was slightly picking up as a drop of water hit her beak. It was beginning to rain.

"Come on, dad! Dinner's ready!" She paused, listening for any responses. The only thing she heard was the rain as it began to fall harder around her. She pulled her hood on, pressing forward.

"Come on, dad. Where are you?" she whispered to herself, looking everywhere for her dad. Up ahead, she heard something clatter in a nearby alleyway. A figure stepped from the shadows, probably fifteen feet away. He was hooded, wore boots and faced away from her.

"Hey!" she yelled. The figure tensed. He never turned around as he took off running. "Hey, wait!" she yelled, taking off after him. She came to the entrance of the alleyway the figure had run out of and stopped, glancing in.

"no." the whispered word escaped her beak without her even realizing she'd spoke. She rushed forward into the alley, forgetting about the figure. Laying on the ground was none other than her father.

"dad!" she rushed, kneeling down next to his left side. His chest rose beneath a pool of blood, and tears brimmed her eyes. His eyes met hers as he reached his hand towards her. She grabbed it, squeezing it. Her eyes were wide. She didn't know what to do. What was she supposed to do?

"Daddy, what happened! Who was that!"

"Anna." He tried, his breath coming hard. His voice was weak. He was fading, and there was nothing she could do. "Anna, I love you so much." He spit out before a cough wracked his whole body. Blood shot out of his beak and Anna saw red.

"That mother fucker."

"Anna." Pochard partially scolded, even in his current state. She ignored him.

"I'll kill him!" she promised, "Even if it kills me, I'll make sure he pays for this!" she growled.

"Anna, no." he said, putting his hand on her cheek. She felt warm liquid and wasn't sure if his hand was bloody or if her tears were coming hotter now. Probably both.

"No?" she asked incredulously.

"Forgive him."

"For this? No way!" she growled, "he must pay. He doesn't deserve forgiveness."

"Forgive him. Not because he deserves it, but because you deserve peace."

Anna was silent. She didn't know how to respond. He partially smiled up at her, running his thumb under her eye where he collected a tear. She closed her eyes at the touch, willing the rest of her tears not to fall.

"daddy, I can't do this. I'm not strong enough for this." She insisted. He seemed to chuckle lightly.

"Oh, my brave daughter. You're stronger than you realize." He choked a little, more blood pooling around them. A sob escaped Anna's beak as she fought to hide the tears.

"Daddy, I can't lose you. I love you." She tried, emotion evident in her words. The tears flowed freely, whether she wanted them to or not.

"You'll never lose me, Anna. I love you. I'll always be with you." With those last words, his chest stopped rising, and his hand went limp in hers.

"Daddy?" when he didn't respond, her eyes went wide as she openly allowed herself to sob. She hugged herself around him, not caring about the blood. Not caring about anything else. That murderer could return to the scene of the crime and she wouldn't care. She'd happily let him finish her off as well if it meant she could go with her dad. She hugged around him, and it seemed like she laid there forever. The tears wouldn't stop.

"Who's back there?" a vaguely familiar voice pulled her away from the situation, looking down the alleyway at a flashlight. She hadn't even noticed how dark it had gotten. Her clothes were soaked with blood and rain water.

"Oh god." The flashlight moved out of her eyes, and a face came into view. A grey duck with piercing blue eyes.

"Greg?" she asked, or rather croaked as her throat was sore from sobbing.

"Anna. Anna, baby girl, come here." The officer had another officer hand him a blanket as she unwillingly let go of her dad and entered the blanket. He grabbed her up in the blanket, hugging her. She had calmed down in a single second and when he hugged her, she found herself sobbing again.

"Your mom called us. Said you and your dad had been gone for a while." Greg explained why and how Morton had found her.

"Anna, what happened?" Greg asked.

"I don't know. I came out to try and find him, and when I did he was…" she couldn't get the words out as she started crying again, turning her face into the officer's shoulder.

Greg had been her dad's first partner back when they'd first started. The guy standing behind them was also a friend of her dad's; Morton. But Greg was closer with her dad than Morton was, just because they'd known each other longer.

"Shh. It's alright, Anna. We're gonna get you home." Greg promised, picking her up bridal style and carrying her towards the police car. He turned briefly towards Morton.

"Get a team down here. Somebody murdered a cop. Somebody's going to get an ass beating." Greg's voice was dark and laced with malice. Morton nodded, and Greg continued toward the car.

"Anna, did you see the guy? Anything you saw could help." Greg tried.

"I saw somebody leaving the alleyway right before…" she trailed off, "he was taller than mom. Maybe the same height as dad? I don't know." She felt helpless.

"Did you see his face. What he was wearing?" Greg pushed.

"He never looked at me. But he wore a black cloak and black leather boots." Greg wrote down the description in his notebook, sighing out.

"Any features you could see?" he asked. Anna shook her head.

"I was back there when I saw him." She said, pointing back towards the beginning of the block. Greg sighed out.

"It's ok, Anna. We'll find him." Greg promised, though he had little info to go on. He leaned out and shut the door to the backseat. She heard his muffled voice as he and Morton tried to figure things out on their own, investigating the alleyway for anything that would give them a lead. She blanked out on their voices, staring at the rain that ran down the windows. She shivered, finally realizing her feathers were drenched. She looked down, seeing the blood on her hands. She started breathing hard, screaming at her hands.

Greg heard her, pulling open the door. As he did so, she suddenly puked out the side of the door. She leaned out as he pulled her hair back out of her face. She stayed hurled over after, just in case. He patted her back, sighing out again.

"Morton, I think she's having a little bit of shock." He tried.

"I don't blame her. Let's get her to a hospital."

* * *

Anna shot up in bed, breathing hard. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but she must have passed out just after the mission.

"Anna!" there was a worried voice outside her door. She heard the code being punched in and soon, in her doorway, appeared Duke.

Once he saw she was ok, he seemed to relax.

"You alright, sweetheart?" he asked, walking in and sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" she asked.

"I um…" he looked away sheepishly, "I heard you scream." He finally spit out.

"I screamed?" she asked. He nodded.

"Anna, talk to me. What's going on?" he asked. She looked down, escaping his gaze.

"I know it's been a few years, but it's still just fresh in my mind. Every time the anniversary comes around, I just suddenly feel low."

"Anna, that's going to happen. You lost your father. This is a natural feeling."

"Even after six years?" she asked.

"Of course, even after six years. He was a big part of your life." Duke tried. She smiled lightly.

"Yes, he was."

"Anna, I don't know exactly what happened… I didn't know you then. And I don't expect you to tell me. What I do know is you're probably one of the strongest people I know. You've been through so much and yet somehow, you still manage to rise and keep going. That's more than what can be said for a lot of people."

"Duke, I… thanks." She didn't know what else to say. He smiled, leaning over the blanket to pull her into a hug.

"I know it's hard. I watched the life leave my brother's eyes. I still have nightmares." He whispered into her hair. She leaned closer into him. They sat like that for what seemed like forever until Duke cleared his throat.

"Well, it's late. I'll uh, I'll let you get back to sleep." He said, moving towards the door.

"Hey, Duke?" she asked. He stopped in his tracks, turning around. She wanted to ask him to stay. She didn't want to be alone. Instead, she smiled.

"good night." She murmured, pulling the sheets up and rolling over. He smiled back at her.

"Good night, sweetheart." He said, pushing a button that shut the door behind him.


	29. Twilight: pt 1

_Author's note: so... I'm sorry I kinda disappeared on Y'all. Unintentional. Between school, not enough work and bills that need to be paid I have just been so stressed out with grown-up problems. Anywho, I do have a funeral coming up this Friday that I'll be going to. Today is also the one year anniversary that my father's passing... I'm not looking for sympathy; I just feel like as your writer you have the right to know where my head's at. Anyway, I'll let you guys get reading. I decided not to write Beaks v. Brawn, but some of the ducks did end up getting hurt in that episode, so this chapter will be picking up right after Beaks v. Brawn, and I hope you like it!_

* * *

Anna walked into the infirmary. That last mission had taken quite a toll on the ducks. Sure, Brawn was on their side now, or at least his head was, but he had wasted no time trying to take them out when Dragaunus had messed with his CPU.

Anna thought back to the mission and how lucky she, Jess, Tanya, Wildwing, and Mallory had been when they had all taken a hard fall into the sewers. They had come out pretty much unscathed. Duke, Nosedive, Grin, and Jason, on the other hand, had suffered some casualties.

Nosedive had a sprained ankle and keeping him in bed was the hardest task anyone could attempt to accomplish. The teenager only wanted to go out with his friends. He only wanted to get back out on the ice. Every time Nosedive had tried to get up the last couple of weeks; he was either forced down by the pain in his ankle or by Tanya. Sometimes Jess.

Grin had suffered a mild concussion and was no longer confined to the infirmary, although Tanya had been keeping an eye on him from time to time.

Duke had managed to bruise his ribs on the way down, and every move the ex-thief made had him catching his breath. He was getting better and was getting around a little better, but Tanya was very adamant the drake take it easy for fear of damaging his ribs further. He was out of the infirmary, but he went down there often to keep the kids busy. Speaking of kids…

Jason had suffered the worse out of all the ducks. On the way down, he had suffered an oblique displaced fracture. It had taken Dive everything to not vomit at the sight of Jason's bone sticking out of his leg. Tanya, Jess, and Anna had jumped into action, figuring out a way to set the bone and create a splint. Jason had passed out from the pain, and by the time he woke up again, they were just pulling up to the pond and were able to get some painkillers in him. Jess had ended up calling Jurgens to the pond, and Jurgens helped the ducks with the surgery on Jason's leg. It was evident that Jurgens was becoming their "on-call doctor."

Walking into the infirmary now, Anna saw Nosedive sitting in a chair, his crutches nearby. The chair was sitting at a table that was beside Jason's bed. Jason was sitting up in bed, staring intently at the board that sat in front of him. Duke was sitting with his back to Anna, obviously stuck in the board game he had probably brought down for the boys to play.

"How's it going down here, boys?" Anna asked, coming up on them, leaning over the back of Duke's chair.

"Hey." He said with a look of surprise on his face. Leaning around Duke, Anna could now see they were playing scrabble.

"It will be alright, once I…" Dive trailed off, placing the pieces on the board. He had created the word _kewl._ "there!" he crossed his arms proudly at his new word.

"Um… Dive?" Duke started, staring at the proud teenager. "That's not a word."

"Of course it is!" Dive said, "I say it all the time."

Duke's facepalmed, turning his attention back to Anna.

"I'm guessing you came down here for a reason?" he said, trying to ignore the now argument the other two were now getting into over the illegitimate word.

"Yeah. A few of us are going out tonight. Wondered if you cared to join or if your ribs hurt too bad?" she asked.

"Hey, why aren't you asking me if I wanna go?" Dive was suddenly hurt, tuning into their conversation.

"Because you're obviously still on bedrest." She snapped back at him.

"I can stand without the crutches!" he challenged.

"Can you walk?" she asked.

"Of course!" he snapped back.

"Without a limp?" she challenged. His head hung a little as he scooted back in his chair.

"No." it came out as a pout, and she shook her head. She turned her attention back to Duke. He seemed to be in thought.

"I'll think about it, sweetheart. I'm still a little sore, but they don't hurt as much as they did a few weeks ago." He promised, placing a hand gently on his chest. She smiled, accepting that answer.

"Sounds good. I'll um, let you boys get back to your illegal game of scrabble." She glanced at Nosedive as she said _illegal_ which caused him to give her a dirty look.

"Say what you will! Kewl is definitely a word!"

* * *

Anna was walking up to the rec room out of the infirmary when she came upon Wildwing hovering over the control panel of drake 1. He had a troubling look on his face.

"What?" she asked.

He didn't say anything as he pressed a button on the phone. The automated voice started speaking, "New message sent today, Saturday, May 3rd, at 2:34 p.m. from 714-555-4678" Anna's eyes widened for a brief second when she recognized the number.

A familiar voice came over the speaker.

"Anna, please! Stop being crazy and let's do something! Something fun! We can grab a coffee or see a movie. Please, please, please call me back! I can't live without you. I can't stand not having you! It's been weeks! Have you moved on? You can't be with anyone but me. I won't let you be with anyone but me!" it was Oliver's voice, and Anna rolled her eyes.

The message ended, and Wildwing saved it to the archive.

"Message saved. End of new messages. You have 24 messages saved. To listen to your messages, press 1-" Wildwing hit the button, ending the call to the voicemail. He didn't say anything as he met her gaze.

"I don't know why you're saving them." She finally said in the silence.

"I'm saving them so that when he decides to act on these threats, we have proof."

"That wasn't a threat…" Anna trailed off, unsure of what she was saying, "he's just crazy." She tried.

At that moment, the elevator dinged, and Duke walked out.

"I thought you were playing scrabble."

"The boys decided to move onto checkers. More of a two-man game. What's going on here?" he asked, seeing the look on Wildwing's face.

"There was another message from Oliver." Wildwing murmured, obviously troubled. Before anyone could say anything more, Duke was pressing buttons on the phone, finding the most recent message. He listened for a moment, taking in what Anna and Wildwing had just heard.

"See, there's no threat. It's just a crazy guy who needs to learn to move on."

"That's exactly what a threat sounds like," Duke promised, pointing to the phone.

"That's what pathetic sounds like." Anna corrected. "Once he finds something to fill whatever void I left, he'll be perfectly fine, and these phone calls will end." She promised.

"He doesn't want you with anyone but him. That doesn't scare you? Even a little?" Duke asked.

"it's my life. I can be with whoever I want, and he's just gonna have to learn to deal with that." She shrugged.

"Anna…" Duke trailed off, unsure of how to get through to her. "look, he's crazy. He may even be a little pathetic. But these messages? There's 24. This is an obsession. Do you have any idea how bad an obsession can get?" he asked. She shrugged, looking as if she didn't care.

"Anna, have you ever heard of the phrase _if I can't have you, nobody can_?" he asked. She nodded. Of course, she'd heard that before.

"Okay, good. Because that's what this sounds like, Anna. And honestly, I'm scared for you. Ever since these messages started, I've been a nervous wreck every time you've left this pond by yourself."

Anna looked taken aback. "Really?" she asked. This was news to Wildwing as well.

"Yes! Because you're my friend. I care about your safety, and knowing some psycho is out there possibly ready to kill you if he can't have you? That scares me." Duke promised. Hearing Duke say this brought a new perspective to Anna.

"Okay, fine. I'll be more careful." She tried, and the ex-thief sighed out.

"Anna, he's right." Wildwing murmured behind her, "it's kind of dangerous for you to go anywhere by yourself."

"What, like I'm not strong enough to handle myself against Oliver?" she asked.

"That's not what I meant." He tried, "it's just…" he didn't have an answer.

"We should call the cops." Duke finally said.

"And what? Tell them she's getting threats? Until he actually moves on these threats, there's nothing they can do." Wildwing explained. Duke exhaled. Wing had a point. Anna could sense the worry in their voices.

"Look, I know you guys mean well but trust me, these are nothing but ravings of a lunatic. He just needs time to move on and these calls will stop." Both drakes looked unconvinced, and she sighed out.

"Fine, I won't go anywhere alone until the phone calls have stopped." She negotiated. Duke smirked and Wildwing nodded.

"That'll work for me." He agreed, turning around and walking away leaving the two ducks standing there.

"Anna, I'm glad you've come to your senses about this, but I can't shake the feeling that… that Oliver might try something." Duke voiced his worries.

"He won't." she tried to promise, but he looked doubtful.

"hey…" she said, placing a hand on his cheek to guide his gaze to hers, "I'll be ok." She never broke eye contact and he sighed again. Finally, he nodded.

"promise?" he asked.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." She said, smiling.

"Alright." Duke said, standing up a little straighter, "wanna watch a movie before we go out tonight?" he was trying to get on a better subject, and Anna was glad to put the subject of the phone calls behind her.

The movie ended a couple of hours later, but Anna didn't want to move. Somehow, during the movie, she and Duke had scooted hip to hip on the couch, and his arm was draped around her shoulders. They sat like that for a moment, and Anna considered faking like she had fallen asleep during the movie just so she could stay in her spot. He shifted, and she sighed out, sitting up. He gritted his teeth a little and she looked up at him, worried.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Just a little sore." He murmured, standing up so his ribs could spread out a little.

Anna stood up too and as she did, she saw Jess rush by, all dressed up. She shot Duke an interested look before moving for the door.

"Jess?" she asked. The girl stopped, turning back to face her friend.

"Oh, hey Anna." She said,

"We're not leaving for like…" Anna glanced at her watch, "another hour." She tried.

"Oh, yeah. No, I'm not going to the club." Jess tried.

"Oh?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, I'm actually… I'm meeting Elliot at Trimana's." Jess said hesitantly.

"Oh… I see." Anna glanced down.

"No… I'm sorry, Anna. I'm not trying to avoid you guys or anything. It's just… Elliot and I made these plans and…"

"I get it." Anna cut her off, smiling at Jess. Jess sighed out, smiling back. "have fun and tell Elliot I said hi." She added. Jess nodded.

"I will. Thanks for understanding!" Jess said excitedly, running off towards the elevator. Anna glanced back, seeing Duke had stuck his head out of the den.

"Wasn't Elliot friends with Oliver?" Duke asked suspiciously.

"Yes… doesn't mean he's gonna call her 30 times a day." She snapped at him. Duke put his hands up in defense.

"I didn't say anything!" she glared at him playfully and she laughed at him.

"Whatever. Come on. We better go get ready for tonight."

* * *

It was about 7 in the evening by the time the ducks pulled themselves together. Tanya had opted out to watch over Dive and Jason. Grin had opted out, saying it would cut into his meditation time. Jess, of course, was with Elliot. So, Mallory, Wildwing, Duke, and Anna were the four that decided to go out together. Wildwing had driven them in the 4runner. He had meant to give the keys to Anna upon arrival, but once they got there, the idea had slipped his mind as he habitually put them in his pocket.

Once in the club, they went about their normal ways. Anna wasn't used to not having Dive here, but once Mallory threw back two shots, the girls hit the dancefloor. Wildwing and Duke, as always, needed a bit more liquid courage before they would ever attempt dancing in front of people.

Duke threw back a shot before turning his attention back to the girls. He swore he was going to watch Anna like a hawk tonight. Something just didn't feel right.

The night carried on, and finally, Wildwing got up.

"Be right back." He said, shoving through the crowd heading for the bathroom. Duke nodded, grabbing the bartender's attention. He refilled his and Wing's drinks as a redhead walked over.

"Hey, I know you! You're Duke L'Orange! From the hockey team!" she said, smiling. He smiled back politely, nodding.

"That's me." He said as the bartender sat down his drink. He took a sip as the girl took a seat next to him.

"You know, I've always loved hockey players." She said, touching his arm gently.

Anna stopped dancing and Mallory caught Anna's attention.

"What?" the redhead had to shout to get Anna's attention. Anna shook her head, trying to move herself to the beat. Mallory looked back at the bar where Anna had been watching. Wildwing wasn't in sight anymore, but Duke was there with some red-headed human. Mallory turned back to look at Anna who wasn't moving as much to the beat anymore.

"You alright?" Mallory asked. Anna nodded.

"Just gonna use the bathroom." She shouted back. Mallory nodded. She was still confused but shrugged it off as she watched Anna make her way through the crowd. She stopped dancing, not wanting to be by herself and instead decided to go wreck Duke's chances of getting lucky tonight.

"Sorry, babe. He's with me." She said, instantly walking up and draping an arm around Duke. The redhead kind of rolled her eyes grabbed her drink and scooted away. Mallory smirked, sitting next to Duke.

"Thanks."

"You mean you weren't trying to go home with her? Damn, I should go find her and bring her back," Mallory joked, pretending like she was looking around for the human.

"Oh, hardy har." Duke murmured, sipping on his drink again.

"Where's Wildwing?" Mallory asked suddenly.

"Bathroom. Where's Anna?" he asked.

"Same." Mallory murmured, pointing her thumb in the direction of the bathrooms. Duke nodded, picking up his drink again. The glass had barely touched his beak when a gunshot echoed in the club. Almost instantly, the music stopped, and screams were heard as Duke's glass dropped to the ground. It shattered as he and Mal turned in the direction of the shots. Mallory looked towards the bathroom and saw Wing. He wasn't looking at them. He was already shoving his way through the crowd. She and Duke followed suit, and Duke grimaced as people shoved against his bruised ribs. They were getting closer to where a circle of people had formed.

"Let us through!" Mallory ordered, shoving people out of her way. She got to the front and stopped short. Duke ran into her and grimaced, grabbing at his ribs. He heard her gasp and forgot about the pain as he circled around in front of her. Wildwing was already on his knees, bent over a body that lay on the ground.

"Oh no." Duke murmured, rushing forward. Anna lay on the ground, blood gathering on her chest. She was gasping as if trying to catch her breath. Tears were running down her face, and she locked eyes with Duke. He came to her side, grabbing her hand.

"What happened!" Mallory suddenly demanded, looking back at the crowd.

"Somebody call the cops." Wildwing hollered into the crowd, pressing down hard on the wound in Anna's chest. Anna squirmed in pain beneath Wildwing's hands.

"I know, Anna. I know it hurts… stay strong." Wildwing pleaded, glancing around. Duke flipped open his comm and it rang. A voice answered on the other end; he had called the captain's office phone. Luckily, Klegghorn was working tonight.

"Yeah, yeah. Who is it?" came the voice.

"Captain. There's been a shooting at The Phoenix club. Anna's been shot." He rushed into his comm.

"What?" Klegghorn asked, obviously surprised by the information that was coming over the comm.

"Just get down here with an ambulance. And hurry!" Duke rushed, slamming his comm shut. He glanced back behind him to Mallory, but she was gone. As soon as he had looked for her, more gunshots were heard outside.

"Shit." Duke murmured, getting up. Wildwing gave him a look.

"Stay here. I'll go check it out." He ran outside, the night air almost greeting him. To his right, he saw Mallory leaning against the wall. She was holding her arm.

"Mal Mal. You alright?" he asked, running up. He grabbed her arm and she moved her hand for a moment, letting him look.

"It's Oliver. Little fucker shot at me and took off that way." She nodded. Duke saw red, looking in the way she had pointed. He went to move but she grabbed him with her good arm.

"Duke, no!" he looked at her incredulously as she grimaced against the pain. "There's only four of us, and if you hadn't noticed, Anna's on the floor with a bullet hole in her chest and I don't think I'd be much help either."

"But he's getting away!" Duke rushed.

"But we know it was him. We know where he lives. Klegghorn and his team can take care of it now. Nobody else needs to get shot!" she hissed and Duke realized she was keeping him there because she didn't want him to get shot as well. He didn't know if maybe he was growing on the hard military woman, or if she just didn't feel like dealing with anybody else getting shot tonight. He sighed out as he heard sirens in the distance.

It didn't take too long before Klegghorn was walking up to the ducks. Paramedics were right behind him. Mallory walked over, still holding her arm.

"Are you alright?" Klegghorn asked. Mallory nodded, gritting her teeth against the pain. Klegghorn saw this and motioned for the paramedics to look at Mallory's arm. She jerked away.

"Get them inside first!" she hissed, knowing Anna's wound was much worse at this moment. Klegghorn looked like he would fight but saw the look on Mallory's face. This was serious. He shoved his way into the club, where the crowd had significantly thinned out since Duke and Mallory had been in there. They walked up on Wildwing who had tears streaming down his face. He gritted his teeth, trying to fight with his emotions.

"Wing?" Duke asked. Wildwing didn't say anything. His arms were shaking where he was covering Anna's chest. Anna's chest didn't move. Her eyes were closed, and a trickle of blood had run down her cheek from her mouth.

"Anna?" Duke asked, realizing he wouldn't get a response from Wildwing.

A paramedic shoved through, checking Anna's pulse. His head hung, and Duke felt his heart stop. There were three paramedics total, and two had brought in a stretcher. They lifted Anna's body onto the stretcher, practically having to pry Wildwing away from her. He stayed on his knees, and he looked to be in shock.

The third paramedic turned toward Mallory, but she didn't notice. She just stared ahead. She stared at Anna's limp arm, hanging off the stretcher.

"No." she felt herself whisper. Duke shoved through, stopping the paramedics.

"No, no! Anna!" he pleaded, grabbing her hand. "Anna, please! Please come back!" he tried, brushing her hair out of her face. "Please! I love you!" a fresh tear was now making its way down his face. The paramedics had stopped, realizing this duck wouldn't stop. "Please." He whispered, grabbing her head gently and kissing her forehead. He looked down at her face and raised an eyebrow when her eyelashes moved ever so slightly.

"Anna?" he asked, his tone changing. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked at him.

"Duke?" it was a faint whisper, but she had definitely said his name. The paramedics heard this and suddenly were rushing out of the club.

"Holy shit." Mallory murmured as she rushed out with the medics. Wildwing stood up, staring wide-eyed at the stretcher that disappeared in the crowd. Klegghorn had stood quietly, watching it all godown. Once the paramedics had taken off, he had taken off with the paramedics. Finally finding their footing, Wildwing and Duke took off out the door. The stretcher was being lifted into the ambulance. One of the paramedics turned back, motioning for Mallory to get into the ambulance. She turned back to Wildwing. He knew she had to go so they could check out her arm and get her patched up.

"I'll meet you at the hospital." She promised. He nodded, and she reached up, kissing his cheek. He seemed shocked, but she didn't react as she pulled away, running for the ambulance.

Once the ambulance pulled away, Wildwing turned Duke towards the 4runner. Klegghorn saw them moving for the vehicle and stopped them.

"Whoa, I know you're in a rush, but have you two been drinking tonight?" he asked. They had been, considering Anna was technically the designated driver. In their defense, the events of the night had definitely sobered them. Before they could explain themselves, Klegghorn sighed.

"Come on. I'll take ya to the hospital." He offered.

"Thanks, cap." Wildwing said, getting into the passenger seat. Duke got into the backseat, not enjoying the view. Being an ex-criminal, he just didn't like the feel of riding in the back of a police car. Up front, he heard Wildwing making the call back to the pond. He sighed out. He had no idea what was going to happen the rest of the night. Anna had been dead. There hadn't been a pulse. By sheer luck, or something else, she had pulled back into the land of the living. Duke could only wonder how long she'd stay that way.

Pulling up to the hospital, Duke couldn't wait for the car to stop. Wildwing jumped out, opening the back door for Duke. Duke rushed past Wildwing, heading right through the ER doors. Klegghorn wasn't too far behind the two ducks. They rushed in, stopping. Where were they supposed to go?

"Slow down. Let's go see if we can find her." Klegghorn tried, moving towards the desk.

"We're looking for a duck that was brought in here." Klegghorn tried. The nurse wasn't surprised at all.

"Which one?" the nurse asked, raising an eyebrow. Klegghorn mentally slapped his head. He'd forgotten Mallory had gone in the ambulance with Anna.

"The gunshot wound to the chest." he tried. the nurse nodded.

"You're going to have to wait in the waiting room. I'm afraid she's not out of surgery yet."


	30. Twilight: pt 2

Tanya walked into the infirmary, pulling her jacket on.

"Whoa, Tanya. Where's the fire?" Dive asked as she seemed to be rushing around. She didn't say anything as she grabbed a shoe for each of the ducks. Both saw what she wanted and sat up. Jason took a little longer to attempt to put his shoe on his free foot. Nosedive pulled his shoe on and grabbed his crutches, going over to Tanya who leaned against the table. Her knuckles were white where she grabbed the edge of the table.

"Tawny, what's happening?" Nosedive asked, sensing the other duck's tenseness.

She looked back at him, and Dive could see tears in her eyes.

"Tanya?" he was scared.

"Wildwing called." She started, "Anna and Mallory were shot."

* * *

What?" Jess asked her communicator. Elliot looked across the table with worry.

"We're at Anaheim General Hospital." Wildwing informed. Jess nodded.

"I'll be there asap." She said, slapping her comm shut and putting it back into her purse. "can you give me a ride?" she asked across the table. Elliot nodded.

"Of course." He said. They both stood and ran out the door to his car.

Wildwing sat back, rubbing his temples. It wasn't too long after all the calls had been made that he saw Mallory walking out to the waiting room. He stood at the sight of her, and when she saw him she walked briskly to them. He reached out, taking her in his arms and she didn't protest, returning the hug. Was he shaking? She couldn't tell. She pulled away.

"Where's Anna?" she asked.

"Still in surgery." Wildwing murmured.

"Surgery?" Mallory asked, her eyes growing wide. Duke nodded where he sat in the chair beside them. He looked like crap.

"Did they say how long it would be?" she pushed.

"No. And I didn't ask. We're just going to… have to wait." Wildwing murmured. Duke sighed out next to him as he stood up.

"No, you're going to have to wait!" Duke snapped.

"Duke-"

"I'm not just gonna sit here while Oliver is still somewhere out there getting away with this!" Duke snapped.

"Yes you are!" it was the first time Klegghorn had spoken in a while. Duke rolled his eyes, huffing as he sat back down. "I sent my boys over to the kid's house."

"Oh sure, because that's where the bad guys always go is back to their own house." Duke snapped. Klegghorn rolled his eyes.

"It's our best lead. Whether or not the kid was stupid enough to go back there, that's where we're going to find clues."

Duke sighed out. He knew the captain was right, he just couldn't take sitting here. It was agonizing.

"Duke," Wildwing placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up at the other duck, "it'll be ok. Just relax. She's in good hands."

* * *

It didn't take too long before Tanya, Grin, and two teenagers on crutches came walking through the doors to the ER.

"What's going on, Wing?" Nosedive was the first one to start asking questions. "Have you seen her? Is she ok?"

"Slow down, Dive. She's still in surgery. Honestly, I probably should have waited to call you guys down here until after the surgery was done." Wildwing murmured, rethinking his actions.

"Why?" Dive asked.

"Because now, you guys get to sit in agony with us." Wildwing murmured, motioning to the empty seats that sat around the room. Nosedive nodded, taking a seat next to his brother.

"What's he doing here?" Tanya suddenly asked, seeing Klegghorn sitting a couple of seats down.

"I uh, I just wanted to make sure Anna was going to be ok." He murmured.

"Why?" Nosedive asked, "it's not like you care." Klegghorn looked slightly hurt at this remark and Wildwing shot his brother a glare. He cringed back away from his brother's gaze.

Before Klegghorn could do anything, his radio tuned in.

"Klegghorn, you're not gonna believe this." Came the voice.

"What?" he asked, picking up his radio.

"the kid was here. We've got him." Duke's head perked up as he glanced at the captain.

"Good. Take him downtown. I'll be there in a bit." Klegghorn said, standing up. He took a second to glance at Wildwing.

"look, Wildwing. We may have our differences, but you know I…" he trailed off, unable to find the right words, "just, give me a call when she wakes up. Let me know she'll be ok." He asked.

"Of course, captain." Wildwing stood up, offering his hand. Klegghorn shook it before turning around, shoving his hands in his pockets, and walking out the doors to his car.

* * *

"Thanks for understanding, Elliot." Jess said as the hospital came into view.

"Yeah, totally. I get it." He said, never taking his eyes off the road.

As the hospital got closer, Jess prepared herself for the slowing down of the car, but it never came. She watched as the car drove right by the driveway for the hospital. There were two more entrances to the parking lot up ahead and she thought that maybe he had planned to take those exits. He passed both of those as well.

"Uh, Elliot?" she asked, "the hospital was back there." She said, pointing backwards.

"Oh, we're not going to the hospital." He said calmly. Her eyes widened.

"Then um… where are we going?" she asked, fear lacing her words.

"We're going home, silly. We have a baby at home." He smiled at her, and Jess looked on in horror. Elliot definitely wasn't right in the head, and he was driving the car. There was no way out.

* * *

"Hey, um… just a thought, but did anyone think to call Jess?" Nosedive suddenly asked after it had been silent for a while.

"I called her before I called you guys." Wildwing arched his eyebrow, realizing his baby brother had made a point. Jess hadn't gotten to the hospital yet. The others had been sitting there for almost two hours already and there had been no sign of Jess.

"Maybe she's stuck in traffic." Wildwing murmured, flipping his comm open.

* * *

Jess heard her comm start to buzz in her purse. She reached into it discreetly, flipping the switch on the side that silenced it. She then felt around, pressing a button that flipped out to the side. She started tapping on it.

* * *

Wildwing was confused at first as he heard the beeping that came across his comm.

"What is that?" Nosedive asked.

"Shush." Wildwing hissed, listening to the beeps.

The beeps subsided and Wildwing glanced around the room.

"SOS?" Mallory asked, glancing up at Wildwing.

"That's what I heard." He confirmed, knowing that Jess had been sending a message in Morse code.

"SOS? Why?" Nosedive asked, peeking around Mallory at his brother. Wildwing looked like he was at a loss.

"Didn't she go out with that Elliot kid tonight?" Duke asked quietly from his corner. He stared at the floor, never looking at the rest of them.

"She did, didn't she." Wildwing confirmed. "she had a date"

"What do we know about this kid?" Duke asked. Nobody answered.

"Nothing really," Mallory admitted.

"Other than that he's best friends with Oliver." There was a hint of malice to Duke's voice as a realization came to the rest of the team.

"You don't think…" Wildwing asked in Duke's direction. Duke stood up, sighing.

"We don't know anything about him, he's best friends with the maniac that just put Anna in the hospital. I'd say that's good enough reason to distrust the bastard." Duke said, grabbing a cup of coffee from the table in the corner. He sipped on it, looking back at his team.

"Tanya, did you bring the migrator or the suburban?" Wildwing asked.

"The burb. I didn't realize we'd end up with a mission."

"Good, actually. The suburban will give us some stealth. Duke, Mallory and Tanya. You're with me. Grin, you stay with Nosedive and Jason." He glanced over at the two teenagers, receiving a glare from his little brother. "Let us know as soon as there's any change with Anna's condition."

"No way, bro. Jess is in trouble, I'm going!" Nosedive stood up fast, almost regretting the motion. His face scrunched up for a second before he cleared it away, meeting his brother's gaze. Wildwing raised an eyebrow, glancing down at Nosedive's feet.

"You only have one shoe." Wildwing started. Nosedive reached into his backpack, pulling out his other tennis shoe. Once again, Wildwing raised an eyebrow.

"Put that shoe on with zero pain, then I'll _think_ about letting you go." Wildwing started. Nosedive smiled, flipping around and sitting down. He watched carefully. There were a couple of times that Nosedive moved his foot and the shoe slowly that he thought his brother would cry out, but he didn't as he stood up, pridefully smiling at his brother. Wildwing sighed.

"Fine, but we're not babysitting you. If you can't walk once we get there, you're to turn around and wait in the suburban. That's an order." He warned. Nosedive nodded, still grinning.

"Yes sir!" he mock saluted his brother.

"Well, if Y'all are going, I better stay here… watch out for Jason." Duke muttered, sitting next to the kid.

"What?" Wildwing turned around, looking in disbelief at Duke.

"Well, Jason can't get up to get himself coffee. Someone's gotta be here to play fetch." Duke tried.

"That's what Grin's here for." Wildwing tried, "to watch out for Jason." He felt like he was explaining it to a child.

"What if Grin has to use the bathroom and Jason really needs coffee… Like he's about to die of thirst and Grin has left the room. What's going to happen to poor Jason if he doesn't get his coffee?" Duke asked, drawing it out. Wildwing sighed, turning to face his friend.

"Duke, what's really going on?" he asked, a little quieter so the others couldn't hear. Duke sighed, looking away. He looked back at his best friend, meeting his gaze.

"I can't leave her." He partially whispered. Jason heard him but stayed silent. Wildwing looked like he was in pain at Duke's words. He had heard Duke. He and Mallory were the only two of the team that had heard Duke plead for Anna to come back to life. Heard him tell her that he loved her. Wildwing had to wonder if when Anna pulled through if she would remember that too. He always knew something existed between the two, but he always thought it would remain dormant. That it would never come out because the two ducks were too stubborn. Now here they were, standing in a hospital, not truly knowing if one would make it while the other didn't dare go too far away from her side.

"Duke, I-" Wildwing was at a loss for words. He glanced back at Mallory, knowing exactly how Duke felt. Mallory had been shot tonight too, and although it wasn't as bad as Anna, Wildwing had to admit to himself that his heart skipped a beat when he saw the blood trailing down Mallory's arm earlier that night.

"Wildwing, I need to stay." Duke tried, "I gotta make sure she's ok."

"Duke, I know what you mean, but you can't just sit here in your own head. That's not safe. We could really use your help." Wildwing tried.

Duke glanced away, sighing out.

"For Jess." Wildwing tried.

Duke nodded slowly, standing up.

"I guess you're right. I'm no help just sitting here." He finally agreed. Wildwing placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, giving a small smile.

"We'll be back with Jess intact before you know it." He promised, glancing over at Jason and Grin, directing his statement at them as well.

Grin nodded, showing he'd gotten the message. Jason readjusted, knowing he'd be sitting there longer. Luckily, there was a loveseat in the waiting room, and that's where he sat now, his leg propped up on the cushions.

The ducks all turned from the ER, heading toward the suburban.

* * *

Tanya set up the communicator to trace Jessica's. She stared intently as Wildwing drove.

"Take a right up ahead." She guided, never glancing up. Wildwing did as he was told. "Now go straight for about… eh… 5 or 6 blocks." She guessed.

"Which way am I turning after that?" he asked.

"Left."

"Why would anybody drag Jess out here?" Nosedive wondered from the way back of the suburban, glancing out the window. The neighborhood was dark and scary looking. Scraggly trees stuck out of unfenced yards. Some of the windows around the neighborhood were boarded up. Nosedive shrunk back, glancing ahead.

Wildwing took the left he was supposed to take.

"Okay, wait…she's coming up on the right…" she trailed off, glancing up. To the right up ahead was a warehouse. Wildwing pulled to the side of the road, turning the suburban off.

"You sure you got the right address, Tanya?" he asked, peeking out the window. She glanced back down, seeing the signal stronger than it had been all night.

"She's in there." She promised, pointing.

"Alright team. We don't know what we're dealing with here. We've already got one of our own in the hospital. Three of us in here are injured." He glanced between Duke, Mallory and Dive. "Let's just try to be cautious, ok?" he said before opening the door and getting out. Dive took a second getting out but stood up straight as they headed toward the warehouse.

"Dive, you're sure you're ok?" Wildwing pushed as they moved toward the warehouse.

"Positive." Dive promised, and Wildwing had to admit, Dive's limp was subtle. Had he not known about the injury, he probably wouldn't have even noticed.

The Ducks moved up to the side of the warehouse. Wildwing reached out, trying the door they had stopped by. Of course, it was locked.

"Duke." He whispered, and Duke moved forward.

"Already on it." He promised, pulling out his tools. Not even half a minute went by before the door swung open.

"Piece of cake." Duke murmured, moving inside. The rest followed as they made their way to a hiding place behind a pile of crates and boxes. In front of them, the scene was set up almost like a movie set. A kitchen table sat in the center. Jess sat there, Elliot sat across the table from her with his back turned to where the ducks hid. He had a newspaper and was reading it. Jess was stuck in a chain that was connected to the chair she sat in. She looked miserable, staring down at the table. And then they heard it. A baby started crying.

"Sweetie, the baby is crying." Elliot said calmly.

"Well, I would go check on the baby, but I seem to be chained up." She murmured, jerking her leg for a second. Elliot seemed to sigh out, getting up. He grabbed a key from his pocket and unhooked her.

"The reason you were chained up in the first place is because you don't know how to play nice." He muttered. The chain shook a little as it came loose from her ankle. She stood up, going over to a crib. She pulled from the crib an actual human baby who couldn't be older than a year old.

"what the hell?" Dive whispered. The others had the same look on their face. Elliot kidnapped a baby and Jess just to play house?

Jess rocked the baby, trying to get him to calm down. When the baby didn't quiet, Elliot got mad, slamming a hand down on the table.

"Can't you get that kid to shut up? A mother should be able to calm her baby down!" he scolded.

"First of all, he's not my baby. secondly," she looked down at the baby in her arms, "he's hungry."

"Well then feed him!" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Does it look like I have any food on me?" she asked sarcastically.

He huffed, picking up a piece of the plastic food they had sitting in front of them. They had literally been playing house, fake food and all. He held out the plastic piece of chicken to her. She pulled back.

"Are you serious?" she asked. He shook it in front of her face.

"He needs real food, psycho!" she snapped, slapping the toy from his hand. Elliot got mad and reached back his hand, slapping her across the face. She looked back in shock but didn't have enough time to react as Elliot grabbed her and threw her, along with the baby, to the ground.

"Alright, I've had enough," Duke said, standing up.

"Duke." Wildwing hissed. The ex-thief didn't listen as he jumped across the boxes. Elliot heard the commotion and turned around. Before he could do anything, Duke had tackled him taking him down. Jess rolled away from the two ducks, holding the human baby close, protecting it.

"Jess!" Dive jumped over the boxes next, half running/half limping over to her.

"Dive?" she looked astonished to see him there. Probably because the last time she'd seen him, he was on strict bedrest. Technically, he still was. But he was also annoyingly persistent.

He pulled her, along with the kid, up and into a hug. "You alright, girly girl?" he asked, pulling away. He reached out, running his hand against a scrape she'd gotten when she hit the ground.

"I'm fine." She said, pulling back, "how's Anna?" she suddenly asked.

* * *

A nurse appeared around the corner, glancing at the two ducks who sat in the corner.

"Um, excuse me. Mr. Flashblade?" she asked, knowing that was the name of the technical guardian. Jason stirred and looked at her.

"Are you Wildwing Flashblade?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"No, but I'm Anna's brother. What's going on?" he asked. The nurse looked slightly relieved, finding a relative. But then her face fell, remembering her news.

"She um," She trailed off, "she's gotten out of surgery, but her heartbeat is very faint."

"What does that mean?" Jason asked.

"It means," the nurse trailed off, not looking him in the eye. "it means she has a very low chance of surviving the night."

Jason was taken aback. He felt like a boulder had plowed into his chest.

"Sir?" she asked.

"I'm fine." He responded quickly, "can I see her?" he asked, feeling tears brim his eyes. His sister, the one he'd spent years trying to locate. The one he had barely started to get to know now had a low probability of surviving the night. He was scared and honestly didn't know how to tell Wildwing. How was he supposed to call with news like this? He finally decided he couldn't. He'd wait until the team returned.

"Grin?" Jason asked as he used his crutches to stand up. He stood on the crutches, staring at the duck intently. Grin finally looked at Jason, and his eyes said he'd heard it all.

"I will contact Wildwing and stay out here. For now, anyway." Grin said slowly. Jason nodded before hobbling after the nurse down the hall.


	31. Twilight: pt 3

_Hi! Yes, it's me, and I know... some of you must be hating me right now. Yes, I disappeared for a hot minute but for a good reason. I'm going to school at the moment... it's actually a crash course program to become a Medical Assistant, and I take the test in March, but while I've been going to school and working, I've found little moments where I could write._

 _I also have to admit; I didn't want to post any more of the shooting until I was entirely sure where it was going. I know I didn't leave it at the best part but, I want to make it up to you guys. Within the next day or two, I'm hoping to post at least four chapters for you guys! They're already written, I just need to proofread a final time and then they're all yours for the reading. I'm sorry for leaving you guys on kind of a major cliffhanger._

 _I'm sorry for the impromptu hiatus, and I'll try not to let it happen again, but if it does happen again, I'll try actually to let you know it's happening. With that being said, if you've stuck with me even through the inconsistent updates then thank you so much, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Thanks all!_

* * *

"Okay, that wasn't my smartest idea," Duke muttered, standing up slowly and grabbing around his chest.

"Yeah, it didn't look smart either," Tanya muttered, walking behind him and tying up the dazed human.

"Hey, what are you-" Tanya jerked Elliot around and he hissed in pain as she finished tying him up.

After the kid was tied up, Tanya opened her comm.

"Hey cap, we've got Elliot tied up over at a warehouse on the corner of Brooks and Higgins." She said.

"Elliot? Elliot who?" Klegghorn asked.

"Uh, he's a friend of Oliver's. It turns out he kidnapped Jess and a kid." She murmured. A groan was heard over the comm.

"Alright, just sit tight. I'll be right there."

"Jess, what happened?" Wildwing asked after the call, turning towards her. The girl walked over, holding the baby close to her. "Whose uh… whose baby is that?" he asked further.

"I have no idea, and I couldn't tell you exactly when he snapped. I think it happened on the way to the hospital."

"Where'd he get the kid?" Duke asked, motioning to the baby in her arms.

"Why'd he get a kid?" Nosedive added.

"Because he wanted to play house?" Jess guessed. "I think he REALLY wants a family."

"No kidding. Any idea where the kid came from?" Nosedive repeated Duke's question. Jess shook her head.

"He was crying when we got here. I tried to grab him and run, but Elliot caught me. He chained me to the chair."

"He really forced married life on ya, didn't he?" Nosedive exclaimed. Jessica nodded.

"Can we just… go now? Please?" it was obvious Jessica didn't want to be here anymore. "How's Anna doing?" she repeated her question from when the guys first arrived. Everyone was quiet, and Jess glanced around their faces, looking for some explanation.

"Guys?" she asked.

"When we left, she was in surgery." Wildwing finally murmured.

"Is she ok?" Jess pushed.

"We don't know. There's no way to know. The doctor's will do everything they can."

Jessica looked hard at Wildwing.

"There's something you're not saying. What were her chances of surviving the surgery?" she asked him, trying to figure out exactly what he was holding back. Everyone else perked up, realizing they hadn't even thought to ask these questions.

He looked away, not meeting her gaze.

"She was… she was shot through the heart." He muttered quietly. Everyone seemed to gasp. They hadn't known this. "they said she had a… a 9% chance of survival."

"Why didn't you say anything, bro?" Nosedive asked, stepping forward. Duke stepped next to Nosedive, crossing his arms, waiting for Wildwing's explanation.

"I didn't want you guys to worry. I mean, 9%? I feel like she's beat worse odds before." Wildwing tried.

"Yeah, but she was never shot through the chest, Wildwing." Mallory snapped.

"I was trying to be optimistic myself without having to worry about keeping you guys optimistic." He explained, squeezing his eyes shut. He turned away from the group. Mallory's eyes softened as she walked over to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Wildwing?" she asked. His shoulders slumped as he turned back.

"I'm terrified…" he admitted, "what if she dies?" he sounded so hopeless.

"What if she lives?" Duke asked, trying to look on the lighter side of the dark situation.

Wildwing smiled lightly at the ex-thief, knowing he was trying to cheer him up. At about that moment, Wildwing's com beeped.

"Grin? What is it?" he asked, flipping the com open.

"Wildwing, I'm afraid I have some bad news."

* * *

Wildwing threw the doors to the ER open. Tanya, Mallory, and Jessica had stayed at the warehouse to wait to talk to Klegghorn. Nosedive and Duke, however, cautiously followed behind Wildwing. Grin met them in the waiting room.

"Where's Jason?" Wildwing asked.

"He went down the hall with a nurse." Grin pointed. Wildwing didn't wait. He instantly took off down the hall.

"Wait, what are you…" the nurse at the station was suddenly surprised to see a bolt of white feathers heading down the hall. She stood up, rushing after the duck. Duke and Nosedive waited to see what the nurse would do.

From their perspective, they saw the nurse stop Wildwing. He looked angry at first as he demanded something. Probably the room number for Anna. And then he was crumbling, hiding his face behind his hand as his body shook with sobs.

Something held Duke in his spot. He couldn't stand to see his leader like this. He didn't think he'd be able to handle whatever had made him break down like that. He felt Nosedive move beside him, limping in the direction of Wildwing.

Wildwing didn't see Nosedive right away. But when he finally met Nosedive's eyes, Nosedive could only see despair. Wildwing turned away from Dive, wiping at his eyes quickly. The nurse took a step back, looking back down the hall at Duke and Grin.

"Dive." He choked on the word. It sounded like he would say more, but nothing more came out.

"What's going on, Wing?" Nosedive asked, almost rushing the words out. Wildwing turned back, having calmed down.

"she's in room 107. In the ICU." Wildwing explained.

"Wing?" Dive asked. Duke and Grin had finally made their way to them after the nurse had waved them forward.

"The nurse… she said this'd be the last time we get to see Anna." A sob broke as everyone's eyes went wide at his words. Wildwing took a breath, knowing he had to be stronger than this. He had to be strong for his team.

"She said we should…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it, "we should go in and say our goodbyes."


	32. Twilight: pt 4

The group crowded into the room. It was bigger as if the nurses had made accommodations for the ducks. Grin moved to the back, knowing he was probably the biggest of them all. He found a chair and sat cross-legged as he closed his eyes, meditating. Wildwing, Nosedive, and Duke moved around the bed. Jason sat with his leg up, next to the bed and holding Anna's hand. Wildwing met his gaze and knew the nurse had told Jason the same thing.

"She's been asleep this whole time. Probably won't even wake up before…" Jason trailed off, unable to say it.

Wildwing walked over, taking a seat on the other side opposite Jason. He took Anna's left hand in his and gazed at her face. Her eyes remained closed. No emotion or expression was evident on her pale face.

"How are we supposed to say our goodbyes, if she's not even awake?" Nosedive asked, "if she'll never wake up?"

"Hey, you ever hear of that thing where people can hear you while they're asleep?" Duke piped up after having remained quiet.

Wildwing looked to be in thought for a moment before glancing back down. He squeezed her hand a little.

"Anna, if you're in there… if you can hear me, please… please don't give up. I know we're supposed to be saying our goodbyes but… but I know you're stronger than this. You're supposed to see your brother again, Anna. You know he'll kill me if we find him without you. Please wake up." He pleaded. Anna didn't move or show any sign she'd heard him. Wildwing sighed out, stood up, leaned over and kissed Anna's forehead. He turned around and met Duke's gaze, then turned away without a word, walking out the door.

Duke stood there for a moment. He couldn't do it. He's the one that had suggested they try to talk to her, but now he just stood there unmoving.

Dive limped over, leaning over the foot of the bed.

"Annie? If you can hear me… just… I want you to know that I'll never forgive you if you leave me alone with these mooks. Nobody else pitifully laughs at my jokes. Nobody else puts up with my pranks. Nobody will sit and listen to me read a comic. Annie, if you die… I'll be losing my best friend." Duke heard the kid's voice crack at the end and watched as he limped out the door, probably to find his brother.

Jason sighed out, glancing back at Anna.

"Anna, I know we just came back into each other's lives. But that's why you got to fight this. I just now got my sister back. I can't lose her again. There's still so much time to make up for. I didn't get to be your big brother when you were growing up, but I can be your big brother now if you just wake up. I love you, sis." Jason said. He groaned as he stood up, grabbing his crutches.

"Need help?" Duke asked, stepping forward. Jason shook his head.

"Just gonna go… get some water or something." He muttered. Before Duke could offer to get it for him, he was already limping for the door. Duke shook his head. He knew what the others were doing. They were saying their goodbyes and then leaving. He looked back at Grin.

The gentle giant hadn't said a word; just sat quietly in the back of the room, his eyes closed.

"Well, guess he's out for a little bit," Duke muttered, walking forward.

He slowly found his way to the chair Jason had been sitting in. He scooted it forward, leaning his elbows on the bed. He found her hand in his and traced his thumb across the back of her hand. He tried to control his breathing. Time seemed to stand still as he gazed at her face. He wished she looked peaceful. Instead, she looked weak. Nearly dead. He sighed out, trying to find his words.

Before he could say anything, the door flew open. He sat up straight, seeing Mallory, Tanya, and Jessica shoving their way in. Mallory was in the front, looking absolutely pissed. The girls that followed wore looks of despair. Wildwing must have told them when they'd finally gotten to the hospital.

"Anna, wake up!" Mallory suddenly demanded, going to the side of the bed.

"Mal-"

"Stow it, Duke!" she snapped at him before he could barely speak. Wildwing walked in after Jess, having seen the look on Mallory's face.

"Anna, get up! I know you're stronger than this! You've taken on the asshole lizard one-on-one, and you can't handle a little bullet!" Mallory snapped.

"Mallory." Wildwing walked up behind her, placing a hand around her arm. She ignored his touch.

"You're not dying, Anna! I won't let you! Wake up!" Mallory cried, reaching back a hand and slapping Anna across the face.

"Mallory!" Duke scolded, standing up and looking like he might jump across the bed at her. One look from Wildwing stopped Duke as Wildwing himself pulled Mallory back.

"Mallory, get ahold of yourself!" he snapped, turning her to face him as he shook her a little bit. Now that Mallory had been turned, Jess was able to get to the chair next to Anna's bed. She leaned down on the bed and started crying.

"Wildwing I won't do this! Not again." Mallory growled.

"Mallory, we're all in shock. We never thought we'd see the day she faced something she, you know, couldn't beat."

"She's not dead yet!" Mallory snapped, "so stop acting like she is!"

"Mallory, I know how you feel. But we gotta be realistic here." Wildwing tried. Mallory's hard exterior faltered as she suddenly fell into Wildwing's arms. Tears were falling from her face as her body was suddenly shaking from the sobs. Duke realized he had never seen the fearless redhead like this.

"Wildwing I can't… I don't want her to die."

Wildwing consoled her, rubbing his hand against her fiery hair. He leaned his chin on top of her head, looking back over at Duke. Tears brimmed his eyes, and Duke looked blurry to him. He blinked to get rid of the tears and didn't care that they were falling. He was tired of being the strong leader for everyone. He had every right to grieve as everyone else did.

"She's still so warm." Jessica murmured, looking over her arm at Anna. Tears were still falling from her eyes, and she made no move to stop them.

"Jess," Duke said from across the bed, reaching over Anna and taking her hand. Jess accepted it. Anna's head moved a little, and Jess and Duke shared a look.

"Anna?" Jess asked. They waited a second. Nothing. Jess lowered her head back down onto her arm, letting the tears fall again. Must have just been some reflex to Mallory's slap.

Tanya moved behind Jess's chair, leaning over the back.

"I just can't believe it." Was all Tanya said as she lowered her head in sorrow. Mallory had stopped crying for a moment to look back at the bed before falling back into Wildwing's embrace.

"Come on, Mal. Let's find you something to eat." Wildwing started, moving for the door.

"I'm not hungry." She murmured.

"I don't care. You're eating something." He snapped, "we'll be back after a bit." He murmured, guiding Mallory out of the room.

Once in the hall, Mallory stopped.

"Mal-"

"I'm sorry, Wildwing. I'm sorry I lost my cool in there. I just, I can't believe she's going to die. I have to believe she's going to make it. I've seen too much death in my time. I don't plan to add Anna to my list of Killed in Action."

"Mallory," he moved forward, pulling her into a hug again, "I know you don't. I'm not telling you to give up. I just want us all to be realistic. If she dies, it's going to hurt a hell of a lot worse if we convince ourselves she's going to instantly pull through with no problem."

"I know…" Mallory stiffened up as she pulled away, "I've had to do this so many times, you'd think this would come easy."

"You guys are best friends." Wildwing said simply. Mallory almost broke again at his words but stood firm.

"You noticed?" she smirked. He chuckled lightly. She sighed out, "She reminds me of Mary in a lot of ways. Headstrong, smart, sarcastic…" she trailed off, looking back at Wildwing. "I don't want her to die," she repeated.

"Me neither," He pulled her back into a hug, and she didn't fight him. He'd been hugging on her a lot lately, and it dawned on her. Little touches, little gestures he'd been making. Did they mean something? Did she want them to mean something?

He went to pull away, but as he turned, she gripped onto his hand, not letting him walk away. He stopped, looking back at her.

Her green eyes locked onto his brown, and he was unable to pull away from her gaze.

"Mal, what-"

Before he could say any more, her beak was pressed to his, and he found himself confused. Did he do that? Or did she? The confusion melted as he fell into the kiss, pulling her body into his. They heard the door from Anna's room click, and they both quickly jumped back, looking down the hall. They saw Tanya, Jess, and Grin exit the room.

"What's going on?" Wildwing asked.

"Figured we'd follow you to get food," Tanya said. Wildwing nodded before quickly turning his head back.

"What about Duke?"

"Oh, we asked him. He said something about he doesn't do breakfast, and to just bring him back a cup of coffee." Tanya said with a matter-of-fact tone. Wildwing quickly glanced at his com. It technically was time for breakfast; 6:15 in the morning. He hadn't even realized how fast time had flown since the incident in the club.

"Alright. We'll grab Duke some coffee." He went along with it as they headed for the stairs. Mallory fell into step beside him. They didn't mutter a single word to each other as they journeyed toward the cafeteria.

* * *

Duke sighed out once the door shut. Now it was just him in the room. He winced, grabbing at his chest. Taking down that Elliot kid had really hurt his ribs, and he wondered if he had extended any damage, or if he had just irritated an already existing injury. Once the pain subsided a little, he glanced back down at Anna.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry." He murmured, laying his head down on the bed. He felt a movement. Small, but her hand had rested on his head. He wasn't sure if he had moved it himself, though, so he ignored the motion, just enjoying the feel of her touch.

"Duke." His head shot up, and he stared at Anna. Nothing had changed. She was still as motionless, as nearly dead as she had looked before. But he swore he had heard her voice. Swore he had heard her say his name. He shook his head, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"I'm just tired. Imagining things." He tried to reason with himself. When nothing happened, he relaxed again. Once again, his exhaustion was becoming evident and he rested his head on the bed next to her hand. This time, he didn't imagine it as he felt her hand move across the sheets and rest in his hair.

"Anna?" he asked, leaning his head up to look at her. It took him a second, but he could see her eyes, just barely open, staring at him.

"Anna are you awake?" he asked, shock evident in his voice.

"Duke? What happened?" her voice was weak, barely a whisper, but she seemed to be coherent.

"I've gotta be dreaming…" he tried to reason. "sweetheart, you're alright. You're in the hospital." He tried. He reached over, grabbing the call light that lay next to her on the bed.

"Why… am I… in the hospital?" she asked. He paused for a moment, not sure what to say. Would she go into shock if she knew she'd been shot? Did he risk losing her if that happened? Was he still going to lose her now?

"Duke?" she seemed impatient, and her voice came stronger.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door right before a nurse appeared around the corner.

"Do you need something?" she asked, meeting Duke's gaze.

"Hi um… is she… was she expected to wake up?" Duke asked her. It took a moment to realize Anna had turned her head to look at her.

"Oh, Jesus." She jumped back. "Um… give me just a second…I'll go get the doctor" she tried, rushing for the door.

"Duke, what's going on?" Anna's voice was laced with irritation. Duke couldn't help but smile. Already, things were looking up. It was obvious to him the medical staff hadn't expected Anna to wake up at all before she passed.

He grabbed her hand in his, kissing it.

"You're going to be alright, Anna." He murmured.

"Duke…" her voice was suddenly strained. She had been awake long enough that feeling was starting to come back. "My chest… It hurts…"

She grabbed at her chest, obviously in pain.

"What happened!" she demanded, holding just over the wound. She could feel the tape over the bullet hole in her chest. And then it hit her.

"I was…" she suddenly remembered standing in the club. She remembered whipping around, meeting Oliver's gaze.

 _"Oliver!" she snapped, "when are you going to take a hint! Leave me alone!" He didn't respond. He didn't say anything. He glared at her, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a gun._

 _"Oliver?" She backed away, but before she could even think about what he was doing, a shot rang out and suddenly she was falling._

Anna began to breathe heavily.

"Anna?" Duke asked, grabbing her hand. She didn't respond, as her body began convulsing. "Anna!" about that moment, the doctor came in with the nurse from before.

He instantly went to Anna's side as she started thrashing on the bed. Duke moved back, terrified.

"Patient is convulsing." The doctor informed.

The nurse rushed forward, pulling Anna's blankets up around her. Duke moved so she could go to the other side.

"Anna! Anna, we need you to remain calm." The doctor ordered.

Duke peeked over the doctor's shoulder. Anna's body shook uncontrollably, her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Is she gonna be alright."

"Carrie, can you get him out of here, please?" The doctor ordered.

"Come on." The nurse, called Carrie, turned around and started to guide Duke out.

"Wait, is she-"

"Please, sir. Let us do our job and we'll come to get you as soon as she's stable."

Duke huffed, turning and leaving willingly. The door shut behind him and he turned back around in the hall, looking at the door. He took a few steps back before feeling the wall behind him and sliding down it. He brought his elbows up to rest on his knees as he rested his head in his hands.

Duke sat like that for a few minutes, a million thoughts racing through his brain. What if this was it? What if she died?

* * *

 _author's note: I do apologize if Mal seems a little out of character. I tried my best to keep her in character whilst putting her (and the rest of the team) through a situation we've never seen them go through before._

 _Hope you liked it, and stay tuned. I'll more than likely have another chapter up in no time at all! Thanks for reading!_


	33. Twilight: pt 5

Wildwing turned to the others, waiting in line at the buffet. He had gotten his food first and had just sat down when Duke had contacted him on his communicator. He was shocked, and honestly wasn't sure if he had heard the other drake correctly. Anna had woken up?

It took him a second for his legs to follow what his brain wanted, but once he was up, he was running for the buffet line.

"Guys! Guys come on."

"whoa, Wildwing. Where's the fire?" Jess asked, slapping some scrambled eggs on her plate.

"Just, come on!" Wildwing ushered. He instantly took off and the others had to do a double take before taking off after him.

Jason and Nosedive, who sat nearby eating breakfast looked up and saw Wildwing take off. They both shot each other a look.

"What's happening?" Nosedive asked.

"Don't know, but we better hurry if we don't want to miss anything."

* * *

"Whoa, Wildwing. Where are we going?" Mallory asked as they shot up the stairs.

He didn't answer as he turned the corner, nearly knocking over a stray nurse. He burst out of the stairwell, looking around for a second to retrace his steps. He found the direction he was supposed to go and then took off. It didn't take the others long to recognize the hallway. They were heading back to Anna's room. Why?

When they rounded the corner, they saw Duke sitting in the hall, knees to his chest. He looked up at them.

"Duke. She's awake?" Wildwing asked, and the others realized Duke must have contacted Wildwing on his comm.

"She was. I don't know now."

"What happened?" Wildwing asked.

"She woke up, it was completely unexpected. I called the nurse and before the doctor could get in there, I think she went into shock."

The elevator dinged, and Nosedive and Jason came hobbling out.

"Where's the fire, guys?" Nosedive asked. Nobody responded to him. Duke picked up where he had left off.

"I think about four more nurses or doctors have gone in there since they kicked me out."

Jason saw the worry on Duke's face and pushed himself forward into the group.

"What's going on?" he asked, worried what the answer might be.

Duke showed no emotion. He just stared at the ground, but he responded to Jason, "Anna's gone into shock."

* * *

At about 9 am, a doctor came out of the room. The group hadn't left the hallway. They knew they were a fire hazard, but none of them were leaving. The doctor's head was low, but he finally met Wildwing's gaze.

"Doc?" Wildwing asked when he didn't say anything.

"She's stable…" he trailed off, looking past Wildwing at Duke. "how did you do that?"

"Do what?" he asked defensively.

"She wasn't expected… I mean, we thought she was going. She wasn't going to wake up. How did you manage to get her awake?"

"I talked to her a little, held her hand."

"That's it?"

"Pretty much." Duke tried.

"Wow." The doctor looked to be in thought. Wildwing was curious.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's just that," he looked up to nod at Duke, "they must have a very strong bond. I've seen this happen before, but only with strong relationships. People find a will when they can hear their loved ones near. I've seen it with two sisters. One of them was in the ICU and the other never left the bedside. She wasn't expected to live, but the sister kept reading to her and eventually, one day, the other actually woke up. It was a miracle." He then glanced down.

"Speaking of miracles, is Anna still awake? Can we see her?" Wildwing pressed. The doctor looked away again.

"I don't want to lower your spirits, but you need to know. She went into shock in there. Between the bullet wound and the shock, it was too much and," he stopped for a moment, "she's slipped into a coma."

Everyone had the expected reaction. Wide eyes, a couple of gasps. Loss of hope fell over everyone.

"As I said, I don't want to lower your spirits. I also don't want to give you false hope. All I know is we'll keep her on life support. She's stronger than we first anticipated. I'm not supposed to say things like this, as a doctor, but I think if you all just keep talking to her. Coming and visiting her, she'll pull through. I don't want to promise that, because medically that's not correct. But I think she's got a strong will and if she can hear you guys talking to her, she'll find her way back."

"What are her chances of recovery?" Duke asked.

"Physically, I can't be sure. But I think her chances now, regardless of that last episode, are higher than they were. The fact that she woke up is astounding. As for the coma, she could be asleep for a couple of weeks, or a couple of years. There's just no way to predict it."

Mallory wrapped her arm around Wildwing and he brought an arm around her.

"Now Canard is really gonna kill me."

"Who is that?" the doctor asked curiously.

"Canard is her brother." Wildwing explained briefly.

"If you can get him in here, I'll guarantee she'll listen to his voice and have a better chance of-"

"That's a great idea, doc," Wildwing cut him off, "but her brother is kind of missing."

"Oh um," the doctor looked lost for words, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Silence engulfed them for a moment before the doctor cleared his throat.

"Honestly, I respect all of your loyalty to her, but you all would probably be better off going home for now. The hospital will call if anything happens." The doctor stuck his hands in his pockets before trotting off down the hall. Wildwing turned around to look at the rest of the group.

"You heard him. We should probably head back to the pond. You all look like shit."

"You're not exactly Leonardo DiCaprio yourself." Nosedive shot back. Wildwing kind of laughed as did the rest of the group. They laughed because what else could they do. They laughed because the situation was so surreal, half of the group thought they'd wake up the next day and it would all be a dream. Sadly, it was all too real.

* * *

 _AN: Bit of a short one, but I hope you all are enjoying so far. Read and Review, and I think I should be able to put up two more chapters either tonight or tomorrow. Hope you guys like them! Enjoy!_


	34. Twilight: pt 6

Life went on, but Anna stayed the same. After a while, her wounds were completely healed. But she still didn't wake up. Dragaunus created dinosaurs, yet Anna slept. Nosedive went to visit, but she never bat an eye. Jason got out of his cast, and she still did not stir. Dr. Droid returned, yet Anna again slept. Mondo man rose and fell… she never blinked. Nosedive and Grin had to pretend to be gangsters to free the guys from prison; Anna remained asleep. She was in a coma for nearly four months, and every day she was in that coma, Duke would visit her. He would sit in the chair next to her and tell her everything that was happening. He told her about the kid that had a crush on Mallory, how Nosedive had become the father of a fluffy little alien. He told her about the time they got zapped off-world to play hockey for their lives. One day he sat down and told her how it had snowed in Anaheim.

"You should have seen it, Anna. It was just like Puckworld!" he felt himself get excited as he held her hand. "Nosedive actually came through with that Zamboni of his, more or less." He smirked. She remained unmoving, and he sighed out. He glanced at the door to see Wildwing standing there. He looked surprised at first, but then looked back down at Anna.

"the nurse says she's showing progress."

"Well then why doesn't she wake up? Why doesn't she… open her eyes?" Duke asked, tears forming in his own. He looked away from Wildwing, sighing out.

Wildwing walked forward, sitting next to Duke. He put his hand on Duke's shoulder.

"She will. She's stronger than this. She'll pull through." Wildwing promised. He then looked at Anna, "she has to."

* * *

 _Am I dead or is this one of those dreams? Those horrible dreams that seem like they last forever. If I am alive, why? Why? If there's a god or whatever. Something, somewhere. Why have I been abandoned by everyone and everything I've ever known. I've ever loved. Stranded. What is the lesson? What is the point? God give me a sign, or I have to give up. I can't do this anymore. Please just let me die. Being alive hurts too much._

Anna shot awake, gasping for breath. She looked around rapidly. The room was dark, but it was familiar. She rubbed her head, swinging her legs out from beneath the covers.

She walked out into the hall. She went slowly, scared. The house… it was her house. The one she had grown up in. The one that was destroyed when Dragaunus attacked the planet. She smelled familiarity and realized it was the scent of her mother's cookies.

She descended the stairs, stepping into the hall that separated the kitchen from the living room. There was a soft glow.

"Hey, kid." She stopped in her tracks, her eyes going wide.

"Dad?" she asked before rounding the corner. Her dad sat at the table like he always had. He was reading the paper, sipping on a glass of water while her mom hovered over the stove.

She walked in, finding the cookies sitting on the counter, the source of the smell that reminded her of… this. Exactly what she was experiencing.

"Ah ah! Not until you have some dinner." She heard her mom's voice as she turned around and put plates of dinner on the table. Anna was overwhelmed. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Chloe. Chloe looked surprised for a second before hugging Anna back.

Then Anna hopped from her mom to her dad.

"What's wrong, honey?" Chloe asked.

"Nothing. I've just really missed you guys." She said, smiling as tears filled her eyes.

"Honey, we've been here this whole time." Pochard tried, wiping the tears from his daughter's face. Anna sighed, sitting down next to her dad.

"Where's Canard?" she asked, looking at the empty seat.

"Oh, he's not here yet," Chloe said with a matter of fact tone. Anna cocked her head at this. Canard was never late for dinner. In fact, most nights he beat her to the table. This didn't feel right.

She shook her head, digging into the meal. It smelled delicious, but at the end of it all, she still felt as if she hadn't eaten.

"Anna, what's wrong? You look uncomfortable." Chloe tried after clearing the table.

"This is wrong," Anna said, standing up.

"Anna?" Pochard asked.

"This is all wrong. Canard is missing. You both are dead. This house was destroyed." She backed away, "who are you?"

Chloe shared a worried look with Pochard.

"Anna, I'm worried about you." Chloe tried.

"So am I. We're your parents, kiddo," Pochard added. Anna cocked her head. That was right. Her dad had called her kiddo. It's where Canard had picked it up from. But it still was all wrong. She loved it. She loved that they were alive, but inside she knew it was wrong. It wasn't adding up. She tried retracing her steps.

"No, no. You're my parents, but you're both dead. After the house was destroyed, I found Canard at the army base. I joined the army. I fought against Dragaunus' forces. We chased him to Earth. I'm supposed to be on Earth."

"Where's… Earth?" Pochard asked.

"It's… in a different dimension. Canard got separated from our group. Um…" Anna's head hurt as she tried to remember. Memories clouded her mind, and suddenly, she was in the alleyway her father had died in. She saw her younger self sprawled out on the ground next to his body, bawling. Tears entered her eyes as she felt the grief of that night, as heavy as it was then.

Next, she was standing in a parking lot.

"Trent?" she asked, turning around and seeing the duck. She turned back to see Falcone, laying on the ground. She watched Duke jump on him as a shot rang out. Anna suddenly felt a pain in her shoulder, so real. Nearly as real as the night it had happened.

Before she knew it, the world swirled around her, and then she was standing in the destruction of her home and feeling the pain of losing her mother again, feeling the pain in her ankle. She saw Duke, rushing around looking for her.

Duke.

She tried to focus on him, but before she knew it, she lost him again as suddenly she found herself standing in Dragaunus' headquarters. She looked over and saw herself lying in a puddle of blood, trying desperately to cut the bonds that held her there. She could feel the pain of the torture she had endured. The pain of knowing she had lost her unborn child this day. She heard footsteps and looked over to see Canard and Duke rushing over, Grin not too far behind them.

She watched as Duke and Canard both put their arms around her, helping her up. She was so weak then, she could barely remember this happening.

* * *

"Okay, what was that?" Duke asked, leaning back in the chair looking at Anna skeptically.

"What?" Wildwing asked.

"Her eyes flickered open for half a second. I swear, I barely saw it, but it happened."

"Duke, I-" Duke heard the pity in Wing's voice and cut him off.

"I know I've been sitting here for four months, but I swear I saw it!" he tried, leaning forward. He grabbed Anna's hand in his.

"Anna?"

* * *

Anna heard Duke's voice in her head.

"Duke! Duke, where are you!" she screamed as colors circled her. Before she knew it, she was standing in the aerowing, watching her brother fall into dimensional limbo.

The pain, emotional and physical surrounded her. She couldn't take it. She squatted down, her head in her hands as she let out a scream.

* * *

"You heard that too, right?" Duke asked, grabbing Wildwing's shoulder. Wildwing leaned forward. He had definitely heard her whimper just now.

* * *

A sense of calm surrounded Anna. She glanced up through the tears. She was still in pain, but she saw Duke, his arms around her.

"He sacrificed himself, to save us."

She had never taken the time to remember this. She had tried to block it out. Had Duke been there, this whole time? Every time her world was falling around her, he was always there to pull her back up. Colors circled her again and she felt like she might be sick.

She was then standing in the club. She looked over and saw Oliver with the gun.

"No." she whispered, knowing what was going to happen. She now remembered exactly what had happened.

And then she saw herself falling. She saw Wildwing placing pressure on her chest as Duke ran out of the club after Mallory. She didn't think she'd ever seen him this mad. When he came back, she watched as everyone around them grieved.

"Anna." She turned to see her parents standing there as the scene played out behind them.

"Am I dead?" she asked. Both of her parents looked guilty. "or is this one of those dreams? Those horrible dreams that feel like they last forever?"

"No." her dad responded.

"Then I must be alive? Why?" she narrowed her eyes, "What is the lesson? What is the point?"

"Anna, we will always love you, sweetie." Chloe said, "we'll always be with you. But you have to make the choice now."

Anna felt it. She moved toward her mom and dad, and then she heard the long beep.

* * *

Duke shot up from his chair, hitting the call light.

"No, no. Anna, not now! You've lasted four months on life support, and you're going to give up now?" he snapped, leaning forward. He grabbed her hand tight in both of his.

"Anna, please. No. I can't lose you like this. Not like this." He rocked back and forth, resting his forehead on her hand.

* * *

She paused, turning back to look at the scene. Her body was on a stretcher, and Duke was frantically chasing after her.

"No, no! Anna!" she heard his pleas, and she watched him brush the hair out of her face. It was surreal, watching it all happen from a distance. "Anna, please! Please come back! I love you."

Anna's eyes went wide as she started walking back toward the scene.

"Anna?" She looked back at her dad's voice. He held his hand out. It was so tempting. She had missed her parents so much and longed to be with them again. But not now.

"I'm sorry, daddy. I love you guys, but…" she looked back at Duke. He was distraught as her body was carried out on the stretcher, "he's my future." She smiled to herself. "He needs me."

Chloe smiled at this as she took Pochard's hand. He smiled as well, looking back at his daughter. They said nothing more as a glowing golden light encircled around them. In a flash, they were gone. Anna found herself running towards the door of the club. She watched the ambulance drive away.

"Duke." For whatever reason, the memory was dissolving, but Duke had heard her voice. Now, it was no longer a memory. He turned towards her as the rest of the scene faded away. He looked surprised to see her but said nothing as she rushed to him, jumping into his arms. He caught her and before she knew it, her beak was pressed to his. Her eyes closed as his arms wrapped around her. At that moment, she knew it was where she belonged.

* * *

"She's coming back!" the doctor exclaimed. Duke and Wildwing were pacing in the corner.

"Anna, can you hear me?" the doctor asked.

"Duke?"

Duke's head perked up and he turned to look at the bed. The doctor had turned around to look back at him, as had the other two nurses who were in the room. When the medical staff had moved, it enabled him to lock eyes with Anna. Her eyes were open, and she was looking right at him.


	35. ALMOST Back to Normal

The group practically ran down the hall.

"Are you sure?" Nosedive asked.

"Yes, nosedive, for the umpteenth millionth time, Wildwing said she's awake." Mallory was exasperated.

"And this isn't like last time?" Nosedive asked.

"Oh my god! Nosedive, how am I supposed to know? I wasn't there when she woke up! I know just as much as you do!" Mallory snapped. With that, Nosedive shut up as they reached the door.

Mallory had led the group here, and now, she hesitated outside the door.

"Mal?" Jason asked.

"What if Wildwing was wrong? What if she slipped back into the coma before we could get down here?"

"Open the door, and we'll find out." Jess pushed. Mallory took a deep breath, turning the doorknob.

First, she saw Duke, and then she saw the bed with Wildwing on the other side. They paid no attention to her as they were focused on Anna, who was awake as promised.

"Anna!"

Anna turned her attention from Duke and Wildwing to the redhead who was rushing at her.

Mallory practically jumped into the bed with Anna, hugging her.

"don't ever do that again!" Mallory scolded, punching Anna's arm lightly.

"Sorry, I'll try to avoid getting shot by psychos from now on," Anna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Good to see your humor's still intact," Jess muttered, grabbing a light hug from Anna's other side.

"How ya feeling sis?" Jason asked, coming up next.

Eventually, everyone moved in and gave their hugs.

"So, you were saying…" Duke grabbed her attention back, "you don't remember much about the club?" he asked.

"No. I've been told what happened, but the last thing I remember was shoving my way to the bathroom, turning around and seeing Oliver. The rest of it is… gone. Sometimes I'll remember blurs but not enough to piece anything together."

"Probably for the best." Wildwing stated.

"Enough about me," Anna leaned forward in the bed, "tell me what I've missed. Duke said I was out for four months!"

"Yes, and he hardly left your side," Jess said.

"Really?" Anna turned quickly to look at him. He rubbed the back of his neck, apparently not liking the attention.

"Dive, why don't you tell her about the Zamboni." He tried, turning the attention back to someone else.

"Zamboni? Why do I feel like I've heard about the Zamboni?" Anna suddenly said, looking like she remembered something.

"You were in a coma, but I still talked to you. Maybe you heard my stories Afterall, even if it was just little bits and pieces." Duke tried. She smiled at him.

"I think you might be right. I still want to hear about it though." She prompted.

Luckily, Nosedive was so excited his best friend was awake that he jumped right into the stories.

Nosedive did most of the talking, being the storyteller of the group. Wherever it was needed, someone else would jump in and fill in the blanks, but for the most part, Dive wouldn't shut up.

Eventually, it started to get late. The ducks began to head out, leaving Duke and Wildwing there again. The doctor walked in, checking vitals.

"Considering everything, vitals look good. Blood count is looking better than ever. Heartbeat is strong, given what happened. All in all, it's a miracle." He smirked at both ducks, referring back to when he had told them it might take a miracle to pull her back.

"I think we'll keep her for a couple more days just for monitoring, but honestly, there's nothing to worry about anymore. You guys can probably head home."

"I think I'll stay here the night." Duke offered.

"You will?" Wildwing asked.

"When's the last time you slept in your own bed?" the doctor asked, raising an eyebrow, "I know for a fact that recliner is not comfortable." He said, pointing to the chair next to Anna's bed.

"eh, I've slept on worse." Duke shrugged.

"You're sure you want to stay the night again?" Wildwing asked.

Anna sat quietly, observing it all. He had stayed the night with her while she was comatose? How long had he been waiting here?

"Yeah. Don't want Anna to be stuck in a hospital by herself." Duke smiled at her. Anna smiled back.

Wildwing shrugged.

"Suit yourself. I'll probably see you guys tomorrow." Wildwing said, moving for the door. The doctor wasn't too far behind, switching the lights off on his way out.

"Okay, spill," Anna said, turning on Duke.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"Have you really been here every day?" she asked. He looked embarrassed.

"I still went on missions. I still helped fight Dragaunus while you were out." He defended.

"What about what the doctor said. When WAS the last time you slept in your own bed?" she asked. He avoided the question.

"I wanted to know the second you woke up." He tried. She smiled at this, looking down.

"So… Anna. You really… you don't remember…"

"Duke, I've told you." She snapped slightly, "I turned around, I saw Oliver. I saw him holding a gun. I heard the shot. I felt pain, and then I was falling." She closed her eyes for a second, "if I think about it long enough, I can see Wildwing and… you. Hovering over me." She opened her eyes to meet his gaze. He looked disappointed.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. I'm… overwhelmed. I'm glad you're awake." He said simply with a smile. "Now, better get some sleep." He murmured, adjusting the recliner. After he adjusted, his thoughts clouded his mind. _Anna didn't remember him telling her he loved her._

* * *

A few weeks later, most everything was back to normal. Anna was allowed back on the ice, and she was back to coaching. Duke was agitated.

He had finally dared to tell her how he felt, and she didn't remember it. Wildwing and Mallory knew how he felt, but they didn't say anything. Jason had a pretty good idea but kept it to himself. So, in a way, it was all back to normal. Mallory and Wildwing hadn't even acknowledged that kiss. It was almost like it hadn't happened. If they were ever left in a room alone together, Wildwing would quickly come up with an excuse and hastily exit before anything could come up. Mallory was annoyed, to say the least, but let it slide. Her feathers were ruffled about it, though, and she wasn't sure exactly how much longer she could allow it to slip.

* * *

Duke sat on his bed, thinking about all that had happened. It was about 2 in the morning, but he couldn't sleep anyways. Almost every night, his dreams would haunt him. He'd close his eyes, and then he'd wake up in a cold sweat after seeing Anna lying on the floor in a puddle of blood.

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream down the hall. He jumped into action, flying out of his room. He ran directly to Anna's room, flinging the door open. She was sitting up in her bed, breathing hard. She seemed startled at seeing him.

"I'm sorry…" she breathed out.

"It's ok, Anna." Duke walked forward into the room. "It's alright."

"Did I wake you?" she asked.

He shook his head, "sleep is for the weak." He murmured.

"You don't sleep; you don't eat breakfast. Do you do anything that's good for you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Hockey?" he shrugged.

"Oh sure, name the obvious one." She laughed light-heartedly. Duke just smiled lightly, turning away.

"Wait," Anna saw that he was leaving. He stopped, turning back to her. "um, would you stay with me? That last one… it was-"

"scooch over." He said, cutting her off.

She seemed surprised at how easy it was to get him to stay and obliged to the request. Pretty soon they were both sitting up in her bed, backs against the headrest.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"no, but I feel like I need to." She tried. He motioned for her to continue, so she cleared her throat.

"I had this dream, obviously…" she trailed off, shooting a sideways glance at him, "um, you were there. It was back on Puckworld. I was looking for my dad. It was the same night he was killed by Falcone. When I got to the alley, though, he was standing there as if he was waiting for me. I was, older than I was when my dad was… um, anyways, I pulled out my own saber but I didn't stand a chance against Falcone."

"Well, that's not likely in real life." Duke murmured.

"I know!" she exclaimed, "but he actually got the upper hand. He grabbed me by my throat and asked me if I had any last words. And then," her words wouldn't come to her as she relived it all over again.

"I think I get it," Duke said, wrapping his arm around her. He could hear in her voice that the memory of the dream was still vivid.

"I can't sleep. I have nightmares almost every night." She revealed.

"Me too." He admitted. She looked to be in shock at this and he looked away. "It's not that trauma is anything new to me. I watched my brother die. I lost my eye and a chunk of my beak. I've seen things, been through things and then some. But seeing you laying there, in that puddle of blood. I don't know what changed in me, but I've been having nightmares ever since."

"Duke, it's understandable. I wasn't the one who died, yet I had nightmares for weeks after my dad was murdered." Suddenly, it flipped, and she was consoling him.

"Think it's time we see a therapist?" Duke said, a smile hiding behind his beak.

"Oh sure, I'll book my appointment so it's back to back with yours." She said sarcastically.

It was silent for a moment between them, as they both stared out in front of them. Both of them had things to say, yet neither one knew how to put it into words. Duke only knew he loved sitting like this, with her nuzzled against his side. He didn't ever want it to change between them.

"What are you thinking about?" Anna asked suddenly, and Duke's breath caught in his throat. Had she been reading his mind? Did she know somehow that all he could think about lately was her?

"Oh, about how it's late and you should probably try to get some sleep." He moved to get up but her arm latched onto his.

"Duke?"

"Yeah?" he turned to look at her. She wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Thanks." Was all she muttered. He sensed there was more, but she wouldn't say, and he wasn't going to pry.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Duke."


	36. The Most Dangerous Duck Hunt: pt 1

Duke walked into the kitchen, the smell of food wafting out of the room. He passed Anna at the stove, heading right for the coffee maker.

"You actually gonna get some breakfast today?" she didn't look away from the stove as she spoke. He paused for a moment before continuing to pour the coffee into a mug. He grabbed the tin of sugar, scooping a couple of spoonful's in.

"Now, sweetheart. You know I-"

"I know! I know, you don't do breakfast. I just wondered if, you know, you would ever eat." She turned from the stove to face him. He said nothing as he took a sip from the mug.

"I wonder why you keep trying to pick a fight over this." She looked taken aback for a moment.

"I guess I do, don't I?" she murmured. She turned back to the stove, stirring her concoction. Her face seemed to fall, and Duke stepped forward.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"You never eat what I cook for breakfast…" she trailed off, not looking at him. It was obviously bothering her.

"I just don't eat breakfast, whether you cooked it or not."

"I know, and I shouldn't get all worked up. It's just, I don't know, I feel insulted…"

"Insulted? Because I won't eat whatever you're cooking?"

"Yes!" she snapped, turning to look at him, "One time, just once, I burnt the toast and Canard gave me grief for weeks. He wouldn't touch whatever I cooked forever. It was insulting!"

"I'm not Canard!" he snapped, "I'm just not used to home cooked meals."

"I know! I know you're not Canard, believe me. The last thing I want to do is compare you to my brother." She sighed out, turning back and stirring her potatoes.

"What you got there, anyway?" he leaned over, smelling it. It did smell good. He just never really did home cooked meals. In the brotherhood, there was no such thing as breakfast, lunch or dinner. He was slightly jealous of Anna, and how she'd obviously grown up with this. Every day started like this.

"What do you care?" she asked. There was hostility, but also a playful tone. He smirked.

"Can't I know what's invading the sanctity of my olfactory senses?"

"Very well, it's a sweet potato hash with creamy avocado sauce." He smiled at her. She was obviously very proud of the mixture.

"I'll take a plate." He brushed by her towards the table, coffee in hand. Her eyes went wide as she turned to look at him.

"You feeling okay?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow and placing a hand on her hip.

He just sat at the table, smirking at her for a moment. "Never better," he finally said, smiling. He just wanted to make her happy. She huffed, but there was a trace of a smile on her beak as she turned back to the stove. He picked up the paper in the middle of the table and started reading as Anna finished up the meal.

Once she was done, she walked over to him with a plate. He smiled at her, setting the paper aside and picking up a fork. She liked this, and she could imagine this as her normal day when they got back to Puckworld. Cooking breakfast for Duke before he headed off for work. Maybe even cooking for a couple of her own children. She could run the kids to school while Duke went off to his job. She'd come home, get breakfast cleaned up and tidy up the house for her family. She shook her head at this thought. Where was this coming from? Her and Duke weren't even a couple. She knew how she felt for him, but she couldn't be sure he felt the same. She sighed, turning away from the table to set a cover on the pan that still sat on the stove.

"You alright, sweetheart?" Duke had seen the look on her face. She had looked happy, and then she looked to be in longing.

"I'm fine. How's your breakfast?" she smirked. He took a couple of bites and nodded.

"It's pretty good."

"You really think so?" she asked with excitement in her voice.

"I haven't had breakfast in years, but this makes me want to eat breakfast every morning." He smiled.

"I'm gonna hold you to that." She murmured. Once the breakfast was covered, she grabbed her own cup of coffee and joined Duke at the table.

It was silent for a moment. Once half the plate was gone, Duke looked back up at her.

"You're not eating breakfast now?" he asked. She seemed to be pulled from her thoughts, and she shook her head.

"I had myself a sampler plate. You know, had to make sure it'd taste good before serving it to the rest of the team."

"Speaking of," Duke looked around for a second, "any idea where the rest of the team is?" Anna glanced at her comm as he said this. It was about 7 am.

"It shouldn't be too long now. They'll be along."

"They better. I just might have seconds." He promised, shoveling another fork full into his mouth.

"Hey Duke?" he looked up at her, "thanks."

"For what?"

"Everything. But right now, thanks for trying it. I know you weren't too keen, but thanks for trying it anyways." He reached his hand over, taking hers.

"No problem, sweetheart."

She felt his thumb start to trace across the back of her hand. It felt so familiar to her, and in that moment, her gaze wouldn't pull from his. They gravitated toward each other, stuck in this moment together.

"Good morning!" at the sound of Nosedive's voice, the two pulled away before the teenager walked in. Right behind Nosedive was Wildwing, Jess, Jason and Mallory.

"Morning, Dive." Anna said with a smile. "where's the rest of the team?"

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be along." Wildwing murmured.

"I think they're still sleeping. We were just watching the news before breakfast." Mallory added.

"Speaking of which, it smells delicious, sis." Jason praised. Anna blushed. She still wasn't used to Jason addressing her as his sister, even though she was fond of the idea that he was indeed family and he would be sticking around.

"Thanks. Anything interesting in the news?" she asked, turning the conversation back around as the ducks pulled plates from the cabinet and all lined up to eat Anna's creation.

"Not much. There was a rollover in Los Angeles, and something about the weather; might rain later this week." Jessica murmured, sitting down next to Anna with her plate.

Nosedive sat down next to Jess, but before he could dig in, his eyes locked onto Duke.

"Wait. Are you… eating?" Duke stopped eating to stare at the teenager. "Like, you're actually eating at this time of day? Like, actual breakfast?"

"After fighting with Anna about how you don't like breakfast?" Wildwing chimed in, sitting down across from Nosedive.

"I'm turning over a new leaf. Besides, this is delicious!" he claimed. Anna smiled, looking around the table. She grinned wider as she took a sip of her coffee.

* * *

Later that day, Anna paced back and forth, her eyes never leaving the ice. She knew her team had it in the bag, but it never stopped her from having to move. This was her first game back coaching, and at the beginning of the game, the fans had celebrated her return. They got her out on the center of the ice, everyone on the team gave her a hug and a rose, and even the opposing team skated by, shaking her hand and also handing her a rose each. She had been genuinely surprised and knew Wildwing had probably organized this.

Her attention was pulled back to the game. They were nearing the end of the second period with the Ranger's center skating toward them. He drew back his stick, slapping the puck as hard as he could toward the goal. It flew over Duke and Mallory's heads, but Wildwing was able to bat the puck away with his own hockey stick. As the puck flew back toward the Rangers player, the end of the period sounded.

"And the ducks save the day!" about the time the announcer said this, Anna's comm began to beep. There was a disturbance downtown. She looked back out at the ice and saw Wildwing had skated over to the rest of the ducks, showing them his comm.

Soon enough, they were skating her direction. She met Wildwing's gaze for a moment, and knew they were heading out to find out what was going on.

"Are you out of your minds! The third period starts in ten minutes!" Phil exclaimed, running after them.

"Chill Phil! We'll make it! Just gotta save the world." Nosedive promised as the doors closed to the elevator.

* * *

The ducks pulled up to a building downtown. The lizards were standing outside of it with some sort of device. The robots surrounding the saurians started walking toward the ducks as soon as they piled out of the migrator.

"I'll have this thing set in thirty seconds." Siege growled, referring back to the device.

"That's too bad, cause in about twenty, you'll be saurian sushi!" Wildwing exclaimed as he and the team opened fire.

They took down the robots with ease, but before they knew it more teleported to the fight. The ducks took cover, realizing it wasn't going to be as easy of a win.

"Tanya, what is that thing!" Wildwing asked, trying to get a good look. Tanya peeked out but then ducked as a fireball headed her way. There was no way to get a decent view of what the saurians were working on.

"I have no idea!" she admitted.

"That's it! We're done!" Siege exclaimed as the lizards teleported out of there. The ducks took out the remaining hunter drones in seconds and ran toward the device. Once they reached it, Wildwing realized it was counting down. Five seconds remained.

"It's gonna blow!" he exclaimed, turning back. He ushered everyone in front of him as they all ran towards the migrator. They all hit the floor, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

"It uh… it didn't blow." Wildwing murmured, standing up with the rest of the team.

"Well, that explains why I'm not peeling myself off the wall." Mallory muttered as they all turned to look back at the building.

"That's no explosive! It's some sort of heat generator." Tanya explained. No sooner had she spoken, some sort of red, glowing substance moved up onto the building the generator was attached too. It turned a bright red before completely melting the building.

"Did uh… did that just melt a building?" Anna asked, a tone of worry to her voice.

As soon as the _goo_ from the building finished running, Tanya got close to it, picking up a sample with her omnitool.

"I'll analyze this later." She said, putting it away. Wildwing checked his comm, obviously looking for the time.

"Come on! It's almost the third period." Wildwing ushered everyone back into the migrator.

* * *

"Cilarinite! That's what caused the building to melt! It's one of the rarest elements on the planet!" Tanya exclaimed.

"Yeah, cause Cilarinite is totally a word…" Jason murmured from the corner.

"I think the creators made it up for the soul purpose of this episode, just go with it." Jess whispered to him. He nodded, seeming to understand that he should stop talking now.

"Well, then how did Dragaunus get it?" Mallory demanded.

"No idea. It's only found on a small island called Licktenstamp."

"If Dragaunus is using Cilarinite, we better check out his source!"

"Alright!" Nosedive exclaimed, "a trip to a tropical island!"

Wildwing smirked at his little brother before glancing around.

"Hey, anyone seen Duke or Anna?"

* * *

"Shit!" Duke exclaimed, slamming a hand on the foosball table.

"Ha! Lost to a girl again! Care for a rematch!" she exclaimed, holding up the ball and tossing it up in the air proudly.

"I'll show you a rematch!" he growled playfully, taking off after her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she took off running. She ran around the foosball table twice, and he stopped for a second, spreading his legs so he could go either way in a flash if needed.

"Come on, sweetheart. I ain't gonna hurt ya." He tried with a sly grin.

"Why don't I believe you?" she said with a smile.

"Come here!" he suddenly took off to the left, catching her off guard. She still managed to take off running for the gaming consoles. She used them as a shield for a second, dodging around them as he chased her.

She suddenly burst out from behind the consoles running for the couch. She reached the back of it and turned back to see where Duke was. She wasn't expecting it as he suddenly ran into her, taking her over the back of the couch with him. They landed with him on top of her as they both laughed.

When the laughter had ceased, Duke sighed out, leaning closer toward her. Anna felt herself leaning up to him and soon, his beak was touching hers. The kiss was soft, tender, and shy. Neither one could believe that this moment had come, and now that it was here, neither one wanted it to end. Anna could feel Duke's hands running up into her hair as she wrapped her arms around him.

He pulled back, almost looking as if to be in shock.

"um..." Duke started to say something, but the door to the rec room opened, surprising both of them. In one motion, Duke rolled off of the couch while Anna simultaneously pushed him off. He landed on the floor, while Anna thought quickly, jumping on top of him and grabbing his arm, holding it behind his back.

"Say it!" she prompted, hoping Duke would just go along with it. She felt the others' eyes on them, but ignored them, hoping they would think that her and Duke had just been wrestling.

"Ok! Ok! You are the master commander!" he exclaimed.

"That's what I thought." She said with pride, standing up. She held out a hand, helping Duke to stand up.

"Oh, hey guys." She said with a surprised tone. She could tell Duke was going along with it too.

"What was that?" Wildwing asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Please… Please! Don't ask." Duke said, brushing past them. They all turned to look back at Anna. She held up the ball to show them.

"I beat him at foosball." She said proudly. That seemed to be enough for the rest of them, and they dropped it.

"Duke, Anna. The reason we came looking for you is because we figured out the stuff used to melt that building was a rare element called Cilarinite. It can only be found off the coast on some island called Licktenstamp."

"Well, let's go check it out." Anna said as they all headed out. They used the hangar where the duck foil rested, as that would be the best way to reach the island; by boat. As they entered the hangar, they were followed by Phil.

"Hold it my little merchandising mavens! You've got a photoshoot. You are the official spokesmen for _Food in a boot!_ " he glanced over at the ducks and quickly added, "it's an all you can eat photo op."

"You know, maybe some of us should stay here, just in case Dragaunus tries to eat, uh, I mean start trouble?" Nosedive tried, smiling at his brother.

"You know, he's right. At any moment, evil might attempt to _devour_ the city." Jason added, showing he would stay with Nosedive.

"Nice." Nosedive partly whispered to Jason, remarking on his usage of the word: devour.

"I must aid my fellow ducks with this spiritual nourishment," Grin added.

"Alright, alright." Wildwing murmured. "Mallory," he turned his attention to her, "stay here and keep an eye on them."

"Thanks, guys!" Mallory glared at the three guys who just shrugged and smiled at her.

"Wing," he turned his attention to Jess. She looked fidgety and he cocked his head at her. "Wing I… I have this phobia?" she trailed off, hoping he'd get the message.

"Of what?" he asked.

"I uh… it's called aquaphobia…" she trailed off, hoping the name would give itself away.

"What uh… what does that mean?" he asked, not fully comprehending what she was saying.

"It means she can't ride in the duckfoil!" Anna snapped at him. "We get it. Go ahead and stay with the guys." She briefed, shoving Wildwing toward the boat.

Duke and Tanya had already climbed into the duckfoil.

"It's the fear of water," Anna whispered into Wing's ear.

"Oh." He nodded as he started the duckfoil. Tanya took a seat in the passenger seat while Duke and Anna rode in the back.

She fidgeted. She wanted to know so bad. What that kiss could have meant and if it was leading anywhere. She wanted it to go somewhere. Did he? As they got out into open water, the duckfoil took off, and Duke casually draped his arm across the back of her seat.

What did it all mean?


	37. The Most Dangerous Duck Hunt: pt 2

When the ducks reached the island, it was dark, with a leering castle set atop the rocks.

"Not exactly Paradise resort," Tanya muttered.

"Yeah, more like Club Frankenstein," Duke responded.

"Wing, I have got red flags shooting up all over the place." Anna tried, walking beside him.

"Doesn't matter. We gotta get to the bottom of this cilarinite issue." He said as they reached the doors. The doors swung open with a creak as they got close. "besides, looks like we're welcome." He tried to reassure.

"yep, and there just went another red flag." She murmured, obviously uncomfortable.

They walked inside, entering a grand hall of sorts. Animal trophies hung up all over the room. Once they had entered far enough, the door shut behind them, causing all of them to jump. They all looked back to see locks locking into place all down the door.

"You know, I ain't sure I want to be quite this welcome," Duke commented.

"I got a red flag flying for each one of those locks." Anna quivered.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Mighty Ducks." They all turned back to see a shadow descending down the stairs. "I am Baron von Licktenstamp." Upon closer inspection, they could see a bald-headed man dressed to the nines with a glowing red eye, a metal bird perched upon his shoulder. He descended the stairs quickly, coming up to greet them.

"To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" he asked, holding out a hand. Wildwing couldn't shake it. All he could do was stare at the metal hand. Anna was taken aback. Did they really want to seem rude to a guy with so many animal trophies hanging around the room? The baron didn't seem too bothered by their reaction, almost as if he was used to it by now.

"I lost my hand in a wolf hunt," he explained, "but the wolf lost his head." He motioned to a wolf trophy hanging from the wall. "I lost my leg to a crocodile." He tapped the metal with his other leg to exaggerate which one it was, "and this," he pointed to his eye, "a gorilla."

"My passion is hunting!" he turned away from them, gesturing with his arms around the room, "The thrill of the chase! The eternal struggle of man vs. beast!"

"We better get out of here before duck season." Wildwing whispered to the others.

"Look, Baron…" Wildwing stepped forward getting his attention back, "we're here on an urgent mission."

"Pity. I was hoping we might hunt together." The Baron tried.

"Oh, I don't like the sound of that." Anna murmured next to the other two.

"You got another red flag flying?" Duke asked.

"They're coming at me so fast, it might as well be the Red Sea at this point." She murmured, stepping forward next to Wildwing. She was scared, but she was determined not to let it show.

"We want to see your cilarinite operation." Wildwing insisted.

"Tonight," Anna demanded, stepping so she was right next to Wildwing.

"Very well. Let me change into something more appropriate." The Baron said, walking out a side door.

"I hope he doesn't plan on making us permanent fixtures," Tanya commented.

"He has to change to show us where cilarinite comes from?" Anna raised an eyebrow.

"You've got a point, Anna." Wildwing admitted.

"I know!" she snapped back, her voice getting high pitched.

"Oh, come on. Just because he's got a few extricities." Duke tried. Just as he spoke, vents opened up above them. They knew immediately what it was, "like… you know, built in sleep gas vents."

"I got another red flag, Duke!" Anna snapped as the gas circled around them.

"Fight it guys!" Wildwing ordered.

"Sure thing. Just as soon as I take a little nap." Tanya said as she fell over, hitting the ground. Duke was next, followed by Wildwing. Anna moved for the door but she had just barely hit the doormat when she succumbed to the sleep gas.

* * *

"Ugh, what happened." Anna woke up to Duke's voice next to her. The rest of them were coming to. They were in a cage somewhere in the jungle. Duke lifted her up from behind before she even realized what he was doing. They all peered out of the cage, trying to get a clue as to what was going on.

"I don't get it," Wildwing murmured, "someone took our weapons and my armor but left our utility belts."

"and my omnitool…" Tanya motioned.

"and my saber," Duke added.

"Mine too," Anna commented, revealing she still had her saber as well.

"Of course!"

"oh no." Anna groaned, recognizing the voice, as they all turned around to see the baron emerging on top of a big rock that jutted out of the ground.

"it wouldn't be sporting to leave you undefended."

"You maniac!" Wildwing called him out, "what's going on here!" he demanded. As he spoke, the walls of the cage fell.

"A hunt, my good fellow." The Baron said with a matter-of-fact tone. "I am the hunter, and you… are the huntees." He said, fashioning a crossbow with heat-seeking arrows.

"Uh, guys?" Tanya started, "I think we just made the endangered species list."

The baron fired upon them.

"Go!" Wildwing shouted, activating his jet blades. The others followed suit, taking off in different directions.

Wildwing skated down a ravine, heading towards a waterfall. He got an idea, heading for the falls. As he neared the water's edge, he grabbed a low hanging branch, flipping himself up. The heatseeker didn't have time to change direction before smacking into the water.

Seeing it had worked, Wildwing took off skating to help, or at least find, the others.

Duke, in the meantime, had led his arrow up a small hill. As he flew off the hill, he turned quickly, slicing the arrow in two.

Tanya had a little more trouble, getting her foot caught in a root that was growing out of the ground. Her foot had fallen out of it's shoe, but as the arrow approached, she got a fast idea.

"Well, heat seekers like it hot!" she exclaimed, throwing the shoe up just as it neared. The arrow took the shoe as it's bait, sticking it in a nearby tree. "Mmm, wonder if I could pass it off as a fashion statement." She wondered before pulling the arrow out of her boot.

Anna was having a little more trouble losing her arrow. She was good, but not as good as Duke and didn't dare risk missing the arrow if she turned around at the wrong time. She hadn't gone in the direction of water, so her options were running slim. As she raced through the jungle, her hand suddenly grazed across a vine. She instantly reacted, grabbing onto the vine and letting it catch her. She swung around, flying through the air. As she swung, she nearly hit a tree and quickly stuck her feet out, hitting the side of the tree and pushing her back. She hit the ground and looked up, trying to see where the arrow had gone. To her surprise, and amusement, the arrow was sticking in the tree she had nearly hit.

"Guess you don't have as quick of reflexes as I do." She scoffed toward the inanimate object.

"Come on, Anna." Tanya skated behind her, heading toward where the guys were. Duke and Wing were using a branch to fling pucks toward the baron, still standing on the nearby cliff.

"I think we got the upper hand!" Tanya exclaimed. As soon as she spoke, the branch they had been using exploded as the baron blasted it to pieces, initially aiming for the ducks.

"Want a bet!" Wildwing tried as they all took off running deeper into the forest.

They came upon a log, ducking behind it. They heard the metallic call of the robotic hawk as it flew up above them.

"It's a tracking device," Tanya informed, "the baron can watch our every move."

"We gotta clip that bird's wings." Wildwing ordered.

"Eh, just sit tight and leave it to me." Duke said, unraveling some cord from his grappling hook. He swung the end around before flinging it through the air. The cord wrapped around the bird's feet, dragging it down. Duke began pulling the bird to the ground.

"One bird coming down." he said. No sooner had he spoken, the bird took off taking Duke with it. He still held to the cord, flying through the air.

"Correction. One duck going up!" he cried. The others followed behind him. Wildwing jumped, grabbing Duke's waist and pulling him back down. Duke slapped against the ground and no sooner had he landed, the girls both sat on him. He grunted under the extra weight. Wildwing grabbed the cord, giving it a jerk.

"Come here!" he growled as the bird came swinging down. It smashed into a pile of nearby rocks. Pieces fell to the ground as smoke began to rise from the disabled bird.

"So much for that tin turkey." Wildwing commented, leading the ducks further into the woods.

As they traversed the wood, they came upon a ravine.

"I think across this gorge is the way back to the castle." Wildwing commented.

"I think you're right." Anna agreed, looking around. Before they could look too much into finding a way across, they heard barking and growling coming from the bushes. Three mechanical wolves popped out of the bushes, growling with their eyes glowing red.

"Oh great, more of the baron's special pets." Duke muttered.

"Well, at least they're easy to house break." Tanya tried.

"Those vines!" Wildwing pointed to their left. He, Tanya and Anna took off as the wolves gave chase. Anna sensed that Duke hadn't followed but couldn't stop as she risked getting caught by the metal dog chasing her.

Wildwing, Tanya and Anna swung across the ravine on the vines, Tanya screaming the whole way. Once they landed, they all looked back.

"Duke!" Anna almost sounded like she was scolding him.

"I'm gonna draw these metal heads off! You get to the castle!" He called, turning his attention back to the wolves.

"Come on, betcha can't catch me!" they watched him lead them back into the forest.

"Duke, no!" Anna called. She raised her wrist.

"Anna!" Wildwing saw what she was doing and jumped at her but was just a hair too late as her grappling hook caught onto a tree across the ravine. She glided over, landing safely on the other side.

"Anna, get back here!" Wildwing scolded.

"I'm gonna help Duke!" she called, running off into the forest.

"Well what are we gonna do! We can't just leave them!" Tanya exclaimed.

"Yeah, and we can't jump this gorge either. We'll split up and find a way across." Wildwing said, taking off to the right. Tanya nodded, heading for the left.

Anna went the way Duke had gone. It wasn't hard to track him quickly, as the metal wolves had left quite a disastrous path behind them.

She ran up, seeing Duke hanging in a tree, the dogs trying to jump to get to him.

"Hey!" she shouted, getting the attention of the robots.

"Anna!" Duke was just as surprised to see her as they were. The dogs released a growl, moving to go after Anna. Duke took his chance and shot his grappling hook at a nearby branch. He swung over the wolves, up into the air, flipped and landed next to Anna. He barely had time to catch his footing as he took off running next to her.

"Anna, what are you doing here!" he snapped.

"Saved your ass, didn't I!" she shot back as they sprinted through the jungle.

Anna saw the ravine out of the corner of her eye and veered Duke in that direction. The closer they stayed to the ravine, the better chance they had of meeting up with the guys. One thing still lingered on her mind. She couldn't help it anymore.

"So are we gonna talk about it?" she asked suddenly, almost too casually, as they continued running.

Duke looked over, confused.

"The dogs that are trying to rip our heads off?"

"That kiss!"

"You want to talk about that now!?"

"If I'm going to die, I want to die knowing what that meant!"

"Look, Anna…" Duke paused, ducking under a branch. He could feel the metal mutt nearing closer behind them. This wasn't the time to be talking about this. He saw a boulder sitting at the side of the hill they ran by. He could see the boulder barely stood in place via a series of loose branches. As they ran, Duke shot out his grappling hook, grabbing the branches from underneath. The movement of the underbrush gave way to the boulder, allowing it to roll down the hill. Duke and Anna barely got in front of it and heard the clank of rock and metal behind them. They stopped for a moment, Duke smiling over at her. She smiled back. No matter what they'd been talking about, she was proud of his quick thinking. When they looked back, they could see the dog in pieces, beneath the boulder that had come to a halt behind them.

The bushes moved behind them as two more metal mutts burst out of the underbrush.

"We're not out of the woods yet, sweetheart. Let's go!" He grabbed her arm, ushering her forward.

As they ran, Anna's mind wandered again.

"look, Duke, if it was just, you know, out of loneliness…" she cut herself off as they dropped down a short hill, landing at the bottom.

"I get it. But, you gotta let me know."

"Loneliness?"

"Well, we're on a foreign planet and we're the only talking ducks. I mean… if you just kissed me because-"

"Oh my god, Anna!" he exasperated. The mutt behind them jumped on rocks beside them and Duke stopped as Anna rushed by. He grabbed a limb, swinging it back and flinging it toward the mutt. The branch was strong enough, it knocked the mutt toward the ravine, dropping it down to the jagged rocks and rushing water below. He didn't have time to stop and celebrate as the underbrush crashed with the last mutt. He quickly caught up to where Anna was.

"Despite the fact that we are only a handful of talking ducks… no, it wasn't out of loneliness!" he snapped, a little harsher than he had meant. Had he not been running for his life through some god forsaken jungle, maybe it would have come out softer.

"It wasn't?" Anna questioned.

"No!" he stopped running, surprising Anna.

"What?" she asked. They had gained some ground, but she could still hear the artificial animal behind them. "Duke!" she snapped. He was looking past her. She turned around to see a bridge that crossed the ravine. Duke seemed to come to his senses right then.

"Go! Go!" he ushered, pushing her gently from behind to get her going. They crossed the bridge quickly, turning back around. They both drew their sabers, nearly at the same time. Duke smiled, knowing they had the same idea.

"On my signal…" he started. The mutt burst out of the bushes. It stopped, growling with a metallic tone before running towards them. Once it was halfway across the bridge, Duke lifted his saber.

"Now!" he ordered. Both ducks cut through their ropes, releasing the bridge from its holds. As the rope bridge fell, the mutt fell with it, dropping to a watery grave below.

Duke and Anna smiled at each other, both sheathing their sabers. They were still slightly breathing hard, but to be fair they had just run through miles of jungle to get away from metal maniacs.

"Not loneliness?" Anna asked with a smirk.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" He trailed off with a smile, "No, Anna. It astonishes me how good of a detective you are, you still had no idea how I truly felt for you. How I FEEL for you." He took a step toward her. "From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I knew I was falling for you. I knew I would protect you to my last breath. I knew that somehow, we'd always find a way back to each other."

"I was… stupid." She said slowly, "stupid to have stayed with Trent for so long. Stupid to have gone out with Oliver. I guess everything happens for a reason, but I knew deep down… None of those guys were the one for me. You were." He smiled at this, stepping closer to her. He reached out, pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to realize that." she added, her cheek pressed against his chest.

"I'm sorry it took you so long too." He chuckled, receiving a playful glare. "I know, I know. I'm sorry too. Sorry it took me so long to show you how I felt. I was… scared."

"Duke L'orange? Scared?"

"Laugh it up." He murmured, "but yes. I was always terrified that if I pushed it further… if I overstepped any boundaries, I might lose you forever."

She looked up at him. "I can promise you now, Duke L'Orange, that that will never happen." She put a hand on his cheek, guiding his beak towards her. This time, more confidence radiated from them as their beaks met again for the second time.

Anna jumped away from him as they heard a crash to their right.

It took a few seconds before they saw Wildwing jump down, looking down the ravine at his handy work.

"Twas boulder that slew the beast." He muttered with pride, glancing over. He saw the two ducks, now standing apart, and ran over to them.

"There you guys are!" Tanya's voice came from their left as they were reunited with their teammates. Duke and Anna shared a look, and both knew they were thinking the same thing… there was never a moment alone.


	38. The Most Dangerous Duck Hunt: pt 3

After reuniting, the ducks trekked through the jungle, getting closer to the castle. As they walked, the ground began to shake.

"What else could he throw at us?" Wildwing muttered.

"uh… you don't wanna know." Anna said, looking back. Duke followed her comment up with, "oh, nothing really. Just an armored assault vehicle with high powered lasers and surface to air missiles." He said casually, as they backed away from the tank approaching them.

"Is this your idea of sport, baron!" Wildwing called out as they all took off running.

"To hell with sport, this is war!" the baron growled, pressing the vehicle forward. He began firing the laser canon. The ducks jumped and dodged, running through the trees.

"How does he expect to mount us on his wall if he blows us to bits!" Tanya cried out.

"I think we're way past that now, Tanya!" Anna replied.

It took some ducking and dodging, but they were finally able to duck right into the jungle behind a tree. The smoke from the baron's last shot gave them enough cover to hide. They waited for the tank to move past them.

"Now's our chance. Let's move!" Wildwing ordered. He, Duke and Anna took off running.

"Oh no!" Tanya's distressed voice came from behind them, and they turned back to see her foot was stuck in black tar.

"Hey, relax; it's just jungle tar!" Duke tried to calm her as he and Wildwing moved to either side of her, helping her pull her leg free.

"Yeah, but that stain will never come out." She cried.

"Wait, I got an idea." Wildwing trailed off, pulling Tanya free.

"We're gonna stop the baron," he said with absolute certainty. "and this stuff is gonna help us do it." He said, bending down to the tar and getting some on his finger to prove his point.

* * *

"Grin, I want you to really _feel_ like an anchovy. Can you do that for me? Can you go to that place?"

"I feel ridiculous." Mallory rolled her eyes.

She, Grin and Nosedive were strung up on a board shaped to look like a pizza. She was in a mushroom costume; Nosedive was a slice of pepperoni and Grin was stuck in a fish.

"Yeah, and the pizza stinks." Nosedive muttered, taking a bite of a slice he had before spitting it out. The one reason he had stuck around turned out to be for nothing. He was stuck posing for some stupid camera, and he was still starving.

Jess and Jason sat nearby, watching the guys pose. Luckily, the pizza didn't have enough room for them. Jason wouldn't have had to pose anyway, as he wasn't technically on the roster, but Jess was the rookie sensation of the year. It was astonishing she had weaseled her way out of it.

"What we need is a nice good emergency." Mallory tried, knowing she'd have the guys on her side after hearing Nosedive's comment about the food. She opened her com to get ahold of the others.

"Guys, come in." No answer.

"Guys?"

Nosedive got curious and opened his com.

"Whoa, check out the homing signal."

Sitting there listening, Jess opened her com as well.

"Their coms are practically sitting on each other."

"That's why they're not answering!" Mallory pieced together, "someone's taken their coms!"

"Alright, the guys are in trouble!" Nosedive exclaimed, "goodbye pie!" the ducks ripped out of their costumes, heading toward the aerowing.

"Not really sure the guys being in trouble is something to cheer about…" Jess trailed off as she and Jason took off after them.

* * *

Duke sat patiently waiting in the tree. Anna sat beside him. Wildwing's plan hadn't needed her, so she decided to be Duke's backup in case anything went wrong.

"Havin' fun, sweetheart?" Duke murmured, seeing her leaning against the tree, swinging her leg.

"Loads. Exactly what I thought heading to a tropical island paradise would be like." He chuckled at this.

"Good thing Nosedive didn't come. He probably still would have tried to make up a hammock while the rest of us got chased by the dogs."

Both of them laughed at his comment. The sound of the tank was heard, and Anna lifted her leg, getting into a crouching position. The tank came into view, heading right for them. They were unseen, by the baron's eyes at least. Missiles moved on either side of the tank, moving up.

"Get ready." He warned.

"I'm ready." She promised. The missiles shot off. One landed close to the tree, shaking it. The other hit the tree's trunk directly. The tree rocked as Duke flipped onto the top of the tank. He didn't see where Anna had gone and didn't have time to look before slicing the radar dish off the top of the tank. He jumped down, looking into the window, seeing that the baron still had eyes on him. He took off running, and the baron followed him, firing like crazy.

Duke reached the next checkpoint, where Tanya was waiting with a makeshift basket full of jungle tar.

"Fill her up? Check your oil? Tar your windows!" she said, giving the bucket a toss. The sheet of tar landed perfectly across the tank's windshield. As Wildwing predicted, the baron opened the top of the tank, still keeping it moving. He fired rapidly, apparently pissed off as he looked out the top of the tank.

Wildwing waited at the next checkpoint with a makeshift hockey stick. He only had one shot.

 _Your best shot is all you got_. He smiled, pulling the stick back and firing the gas puck into the baron's tank. The baron began coughing as he lost control of the tank. The tank came upon a cliff, bouncing uncontrollably before coming to a rest at the bottom.

Duke, Tanya, and Wildwing ran up to the side of the cliff, looking down.

"Where's Anna?" Duke asked. No sooner had he spoken, she swung in on her grappling hook, landing right beside him.

"That was fun." She commented.

"Where did you disappear to?" Wildwing asked.

"I may or may not have gotten into a fight with a tree." She said simply. He nodded, seeming to like that answer well enough as they began heading toward the castle again.

The baron ran ahead, reaching the castle. He stumbled inside, tapping some buttons to contact Dragaunus.

"Dragaunus, the ducks! They are loose!" he exclaimed, coughing afterward. He was still feeling the effects of the gas puck. Dragaunus' face was not one of worry.

"You were saying?" the wraith said beside him.

"No matter. The cilarinite missile is on it's way to the North Pole." At this sentence, the ducks entered the room, "It will melt the ice cap and flood every coastal city in the world, and the ducks will never stop it in time!" That was the moment they knew that was the reason Dragaunus was collecting cilarinite.

"Guess again, Lizard lips." Wildwing muttered, deciding to announce their presence. The screen switched off as the baron stood up in a defensive stance.

"Now, be reasonable." He tried, "it was just a harmless game! I love ducks!" he tried, "some of my best meals were ducks!"

"That is so not the thing to say right now." Anna snapped as all four ducks moved on the baron.

* * *

It took some struggling, but once they gave the baron a taste of his own medicine, via putting his head up on the wall, they ran to get their coms.

"Guys, come in!" Wildwing appeared on the aerowing's screen.

"Yo, big bro. We figured you guys were in trouble!" Nosedive explained.

"We're okay now, but we need the aerowing fast." Wildwing ordered.

"Hey, we deliver in 30 seconds or less!" Nosedive said proudly, punching the aerowing into gear.

It took mere seconds for the aerowing to reach the castle, as they had already been on their way. The four stranded ducks climbed aboard and just as soon as they had arrived, the aerowing was taking off again.

"Let's rock, lil bro. We've got a missile to catch!" Wildwing ordered. Nosedive nodded. Wildwing didn't have to tell him twice.

The aerowing flew as fast as it could go.

"We're approaching the North Pole, and I've got the missile on the radar," Mallory announced from her station.

"Lock it and rock it, girlfriend." Nosedive confirmed, hitting some buttons.

"In about ten seconds, that thing is gonna melt the North Pole." Wildwing urged Nosedive to fire faster.

"This one's for you, Santa." Nosedive announced as he fired on the missile.

The missile dropped out of the air and into the sea, deactivated.

"Fellow ducks," Nosedive got everyone's attention, "we just saved Christmas!"

"Should we tell him?" Tanya asked Mallory quietly. Anna looked over, having caught the exchange.

"Nah, let's wait till he's a little older."

* * *

Once back at the pond, the ducks all gathered around the rec room.

"Anybody up for a scary movie?" Nosedive asked.

"Uh, nu uh! Not after that last one!" Tanya snapped, walking away.

"Oh, come on! What was wrong with that last one?"

"Killer dolls? No thank you! I still can't walk past that antique doll shop at the mall without feeling like they're watching me!" she snapped back at him as she walked out.

"Anybody else?" Nosedive asked.

"I'm afraid scary movies mess with my aura. I needed to get extra crystals after the killer doll." Grin said, going the same way Tanya had just gone.

"I'm in," Jess said, smiling. Dive smiled back at her.

"Finally, somebody who has some guts around here!" Dive praised.

"I'll show you guts! I'm not scared!" Jason announced, showing he would join them.

"Alright, That just leaves you chickens." Nosedive taunted the rest of them.

"Oh please, you'll be the one having nightmares tonight." Anna snapped, "but yeah, I'm in." she said.

"Really?" Duke asked.

"Yeah. Aren't you?"

"Alright, I guess." He muttered as he and Anna walked toward the rec room. Nosedive still stood there, eyeballing Mallory and Wildwing.

"Bro?" he asked.

"No, Dive! Now go watch your movie." Wildwing snapped.

"Alright, alright." Nosedive knew when to stop hassling Wildwing and guided the other two toward the rec room after Duke and Anna.

Once they left the room, Mallory glanced back at Wildwing. Both their arms were crossed as they were leaning against different consoles. It took them a moment to realize they were both alone, and the atmosphere was beginning to become heavy.

"I uh, I've got some laundry to do." Wildwing said hastily, moving toward the elevator.

"Wildwing." He stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her.

"I uh…" Her arms were still crossed as she rubbed her upper arms nervously.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Why did you leave me behind today?" she asked.

"Nosedive and Grin do need a babysitter. We don't want a repeat of that gangster episode."

"No, and I get that. But once Jason and Jess decided to stay behind as well, you still left me."

"Well, Jess isn't much of a babysitter and-"

"Wildwing, cut the crap!" she snapped.

"Alright, fine. I just… I don't know how to…" he trailed off, not sure what word he was looking for, "I'm not sure how to be around you anymore." He finally spit out.

"I've got a few ideas." She tried, moving forward.

He sighed out before holding out his hands, keeping her away.

"Wildwing?" she asked.

"No, Mal. You know as well as I do with the work we do, there's no way… I mean…" he trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Wildwing, if you don't want anything, just say so. I'm a big girl. If you can look me in the eye and tell me that kiss meant nothing, I'll drop it."

"Mallory, it's not that. It's just… it's not the right time." He tried.

"And standing in the hospital while Anna is dying was?" she shot back, her voice raising.

"I didn't plan that it just-"

"Exactly, Wildwing. It just happened. Just like it could happen again…" she trailed off, moving toward him.

"Mallory, that's not what I meant. I moved too fast. You moved too fast. If we weren't stranded here, trying to find a way home... I'm the leader of a team, Mal. I can't be worrying about one person when I've got a whole flock to take care of. I've seen it happen before. Relationships could endanger the team." He tried, trailing off.

Her eyes softened.

"Yeah, ok." She murmured, stepping back.

"Wait, what?" he asked, figuring she'd put up more of a fight.

"Yeah, I mean, if that's what needs to happen. If, you know, you can't handle a relationship on top of everything else I mean… I get it." She finally said.

"Thanks for understanding, Mal." He said. She wrapped her arms around herself, nodding.

"I'm uh… I'm gonna go shower." She said, taking off down the hall.

Wildwing knew she was just shoving her feelings down. She was doing what he was doing, and it was killing him. But he couldn't risk it. Not while they chased after Dragaunus. He would wait until they got back to Puckworld. He had to.


	39. The Return of Asteroth: pt 1

Jess and Jason were sitting in the Rec room, playing a game of go fish.

"You got any sevens?" Jess asked, raising an eyebrow. Before Jason could respond, they heard the doors to the Rec room open.

"I don't believe it! Siege and the Wraith got away again!" Mallory sounded irritable as the rest of the ducks walked in.

Lately, Jess and Jason hadn't been going on Missions as often. Jason had stopped all together when he injured his leg. He was now fully healed, of course, but he liked the idea better of being back up. Honestly, he was a little scared of getting hurt again, though he would never actually admit that. In the meantime, Jess found she could be more help here, doing the little things; distracting Phil, helping Tanya with her latest experiment, and answering fan mail.

"At least we got the Stasis Relay they were building." Tanya tried to reassure Mallory, "Dragaunus could have used it to pull power from anywhere on the planet."

"We better put it away, along with the rest of our souvenirs" Wildwing suggested, opening vault 7 which rose from the floor.

"There's the time travel device from our trip to the future," Duke recollected.

"Yeah, and there's Brawn's head. How's it going Big guy?" Mallory asked.

"Just great, Mallory. Darn nice to see ya." He responded.

"And there's Asteroth's amulet!" Nosedive pointed out.

"Now there's an adventure I'll never forget." Duke said with excitement. Anna smiled next to him, but as she thought back to it, all she really remembered was bickering with Duke. Over the stupidest thing. Had she really been mad at him for misjudging Oliver? She shook her head. She had been the one to misjudge Oliver. She should have listened to Duke.

"Yeah, courtesy of Dragaunus and that dimensional gateway of his." Anna was pulled back to the conversation by Tanya.

"Oh, come on, Tanya. It wasn't all that bad. It was kind of cool getting sucked into that dimensional vortex, remember?"

"Yeah, not to mention landing in an Anaheim where magic was real!" Mallory added.

"And let's not forget that's how we got Jess back in the first place!" Anna added.

"She's right," Duke drew out, "had Dragaunus not sent her out to lead us to the clutches of some dragon, we might never have even realized Dragaunus was holding her captive."

"Okay, okay. We get it. This is a recap! We defeated the red dragon and restored Borg to his throne." Jess muttered from her spot at the table.

"Who the heck is Borg?" Jason asked.

"Oh yeah, you weren't there for that, were you?" Anna asked sheepishly.

"Come on, Jason, you've got a lot to learn." Nosedive said, wrapping an arm around him and leading him away to tell him the story. Jess naturally followed after them.

After the group left, Tanya leaned over to put the Stasis Relay into the safe, "You know, now that you mention, that adventure was kind of exciting." She finally agreed, "but I think I still prefer this Anaheim."

"Come on, let's go get some coffee and play some games or something." Wildwing tried.

"Ooh, Trivial Pursuit!" Anna burst out suddenly.

"Oh, come on Anna!" Duke whined.

"What?" she asked.

"Did I miss something?" Wildwing asked.

"She beats me every time." Duke trailed off, rolling his eyes.

"She might beat _you_ every time. We'll see what happens when she goes up against a McMallard." Mallory challenged.

After gathering some snacks and refreshments, the ducks sat around the table with the board game. Grin had left to go meditate. He didn't much care for these types of board games.

That left Wildwing, Mallory, Tanya, Duke and Anna sitting at the table.

"Ready?" Anna asked, picking up a card.

"Oh boy, here we go." Duke muttered, rolling his eyes.

"In the Arcade game, Joust, the player controls a knight riding what flying animal?"

"I don't know, Anna. A dragon?" Duke tried.

"Whoops, sorry. We were looking for… ostrich." Anna said as if she were a game show host.

"I hate this game." Duke hissed as Mallory rolled next to him.

"Alright," Anna said, picking up the next card for Mallory, "Who was the fastest player in NHL history to reach 1,000 Career points."

"Wayne Gretzky!" Mal exclaimed.

"Oh come on! You give me the bullshit Arcade card and Mal gets a hockey card?" Duke asked.

"Hey, Dive would have gotten the Arcade card right. Besides, I don't decide which question to read. The color of the space does." Anna trailed off, "now stop being such a poor sport and play the game… You know, try to have fun with your friends?" she trailed off. Duke sighed out.

"Yeah, ok. You're right. It's only a game. It's about having fun."

"That's the spirit!" Tanya exclaimed, rolling the dice.

The ducks went back and forth, and Anna even missed the card she had been read, giving Duke new hope. He rolled the dice, moving the game piece to a square.

"Alright Duke," Anna picked out a card, "Who was King Arthur's wife."

"Ooh, I know this! It's-"

"Guys!" Nosedive ran in, holding his comic book, "guys, I just saw Borg!"

"Oh, come on!" Duke exclaimed with annoyance.

"No, it's legit! He popped out of the comic book!"

"Nosedive, I think you've finally had one triple spicy taco too many." Mallory scoffed.

"that's what I said!" Nosedive agreed, "but I'm telling you, he said we've gotta destroy the amulet."

"We don't know what kind of powers that thing has. We can't go messing with it without evidence." Wildwing tried.

"Borg's trying to get through to us!" Nosedive insisted, shoving past Wing, "I'll use Drake 1 to contact him. Then you'll have your evidence."

He walked up to Drake 1, pushing a couple of buttons.

In a matter of seconds, Borg appeared on the screen, "My friends, can you hear me!"

"How in the fuck did Nosedive know how to do that?" Anna wondered under her breath.

"The amulet. You must destroy it before Asteroth can reunite it with the helmet of Set!" the connection broke out and Borg disappeared.

"Okay, let's get it over with." Wildwing muttered, going over to the safe and grabbing the amulet.

A couple of hours had passed, but the amulet still remained perfectly intact.

"I don't believe it! It isn't even scratched!" Tanya commented.

"Well, maybe it can't be destroyed." Duke tried, "after all, it is a magical object."

Suddenly, their comms started to go off.

"Yo, it's Captain Klegghorn."

"Haven't heard from him in a while." Anna seemed surprised.

"I think he's warming up to us. You know, since we haven't heard from him." Tanya giggled.

"What's the haps Caps?" Nosedive asked, having answered the communicator.

"I got something weird… might be right up your alley." The man sounded exhausted, "a guard was just attacked at the museum."

"What's so weird about that?" Nosedive asked.

"He was attacked by one of the statues!" Klegghorn exclaimed.

Nosedive glanced back up at the rest of the ducks.

"Mallory, Duke, and Grin. Go check it out. We'll stay here and figure out how to destroy the amulet." Wildwing ordered.

* * *

Mallory, Duke, and Grin all pulled up on duck cycles to see three statues come walking out of the museum.

"It almost looks like they're looking for something," Mallory commented.

"You know, I've heard of the lively arts and all. But those three are just a little too lively for my taste." Duke muttered.

They took off right before the statue of a centaur fired an explosive arrow in their direction.

"Any ideas?" Wildwing asked.

Before anyone could say anything, an alarm went off on Drake 1.

"Oh, now what?" he asked.

Tanya went to sit down in the hot seat.

"These readings aren't normal, Wildwing. And they're getting stronger." Tanya explained.

"Where's it coming from?" Wildwing asked.

"The old Brickyard," she informed.

"That old dump has been closed for a year!" Nosedive explained.

"Could be Dragaunus or Asteroth could already be here, looking for the amulet." Anna tried. Wildwing rubbed his chin.

"We better check it out."

With that, the ducks loaded up in the migrator, hoping to get to the bottom of whatever that signal was.

* * *

Meanwhile, Duke, Mal, and Grin were having their own bit of fun.

Mallory had pulled her duck cycle around whilst fighting the statues. When she did, she realized the centaur had an arrow pointed right at her. She didn't have time as she ducked off of the cycle. She took off running as the centaur lined up another shot. She heard the explosive arrow behind her and dived behind a nearby dumpster.

Meanwhile, a four armed statue ran towards the ducks, swinging around four swords. Duke came into it's path, his own saber drawn to block the statue's attacks.

"Hey Mal! I've got some more trivia for you!"

"What!" she shouted from behind the dumpster.

"What do you call this thing?" Duke called.

"Really!" she shouted as the dumpster exploded. She was forced to duck back into the alley as the centaur walked slowly, looking for her.

"I think this thing is the Vishnu!" he hollered.

"Neat!" Mallory called from on top of the building where she had climbed. She turned back and jumped onto the Centaur's back. It bucked like a bronco, trying to get her off of it. She held on tightly, finally grabbing hold of his quiver.

She ripped it off of his back and took off running with it. Without the quiver, the centaur had no more arrows to shoot at her. It took off running after her.

"It's time to stop horsing around." She muttered, jumping up onto a small trashcan by a light post. She used the light post for momentum and flipped up and behind the centaur. Once she got the upper hand, she fired a puck at it, exploding it into pieces.

In the meantime, Grin was having his own fun with the statue of Heracles. It managed to pick Grin up, throwing him through a brick wall. While Grin was standing back up, Duke managed to disarm the Vishnu, slicing it to dust.

"I've never felt such intense evil." Grin murmured, coming out of the hole that his body had made. "Or such intense low back pain." He added, rubbing his back.

"We gotta stop that thing!" Mallory said, coming over to Grin. Duke came over as well.

"Wait, wait. If it is looking for something, maybe we should follow it and find out what." Duke suggested. Grin and Duke climbed back onto their duck cycles. Since Mallory's had been blown up, she climbed onto the back of Duke's cycle.

* * *

"Guys!" Phil burst into the rec room before looking, "come on you got a photoshoot!"

He glanced around, realizing only Jason and Jess sat in the rec room, playing cards.

"Where'd everybody go!" Phil asked, walking forward.

"Don't ask us. Last we heard, Nosedive was freaking out about some elf in his comic book." Jason muttered, laying down a card and drawing another one.

"Are you kidding me! They're probably out saving the world again!" Phil muttered with annoyance. As he walked up, he came across the green amulet that sat in the stand, where Tanya had previously been trying to destroy it.

"Ooh…" he picked it up, "eh, probably glass." He rolled his eyes, tossing it up and down in his hand, "I wish I had a million bucks for every publicity stunt those ducks missed.

Without warning, a case of money plopped down in front of Phil out of nowhere.

Jason and Jess saw this and shared a look.

"Now Phil, hold it! Don't do anything you're gonna regret!" Jess tried.

"Hold on for a minute. Shut your beaks!" suddenly, Jason and Jess couldn't speak. They whimpered and whined, but their beaks wouldn't open.

"Ooh!" Phil glanced at the amulet, wiggling his eyebrows.

They both shook their heads, as that's all they could do. "I wish I had… a diamond beeper." Suddenly, what he wished for plopped into his hands.

"Forget the publicity stunts and forget the ducks! I'm a wealthy retired man!" he took off running for the elevator, leaving as quickly as he'd come.

Jason and Jess just shared a silent look, as that's all they could do. They both glanced at their comms and realized that wouldn't help; they couldn't say anything. They both slumped down, trying to figure out something to do.

* * *

"I don't see anything weird." Nosedive said as they walked through the old Yard.

"Oh yeah? Then what do you call that?" Tanya asked from in front of him. Nosedive and Anna both peeked around Tanya and Wing to see some weird turbine set up, shooting out some sort of magical clay.

"You know… I actually haven't a single clue what you might call that." Anna said simply.

* * *

In the meantime, Duke, Mal, and Grin were tailing the sculpture closely. Duke came to a halt.

"What's up?" Mal asked.

"Look's like he's headed for the pond." Duke observed.

"What would he want at our place?" Mallory asked.

"What else? The amulet." Grin said simply.

"Then that means… we've gotta warn the others." Duke exclaimed.

* * *

"Yo, Wildwing!" Wildwing flipped his comm up so he could see, "I think Asteroth is here. In our dimension!"

"Nice work Duke," Wildwing said sarcastically, "now tell us something we don't know!"

"Arise! Arise!" They all turned to a voice up ahead. Asteroth stood on a platform above them, shouting down to the weird machine down below.

As he said this, the substance that flowed out of the machine started to mold into clay made beings.

"Well, I have always wanted to take up pottery," Nosedive tried, "no time like the present!"


	40. The Return of Asteroth: pt 2

"Arise my golems! Destroy these puny creatures!" Asteroth ordered of the figures.

The ducks opened fire on the creatures, but none of the pucks were working.

"Hey, let's try an explosive puck!" Nosedive suggested, loading his own launcher. He fired at the golems, turning them to mush in front of them.

"Alright! That-" Nosedive's cheer was interrupted by the clay reforming back into the creatures, "really didn't do a lot of a heck of good, did it?"

The creatures moved on the ducks. Tanya was easily grabbed by one of the golems. On the other side of Dive and Anna, Wildwing prepared himself for a fight as one of the golems moved on him. He swung his leg around for a kick, but the creature caught his foot, molding around it.

Wildwing let out a yelp as the clay creature picked him up by his foot.

Nosedive stood in front of Anna as the creature grabbed onto him.

"Whoa, you're in my space!" Nosedive shouted at the creature.

"Dive!" Anna grabbed out her sword, slicing the clay's hand off and freeing Dive. She moved herself in front of Dive, her sword drawn toward the golem threateningly.

"Dive, Anna! Run for it!" Wildwing ordered from his spot. His foot and one of his arms was already detained by the creature.

"But-" Anna backed up slightly with Nosedive.

"Now! That's an order!" Wildwing said more sternly.

"Shit!" Anna growled, sheathing her sword and ushering Nosedive back to the migrator.

* * *

Duke, Mallory and Grin ran into the Rec Room.

Jessica had a crowbar and was trying to pry Jason's mouth open.

"Jess? Jace?" Duke asked. Jess fell off the crowbar once the others arrived.

Both of them got up, running to the others.

"What's going on?" Duke asked. The only answers he got were muffled whimpers from the two ducks. He looked past them to the stand where the amulet had been, only…

"The amulet's gone!" he exclaimed. Jess and Jason looked irritated, as if that was what they had been trying to say all along.

"Yeah, and so are a couple of ducks." They all turned to the door where Dive and Anna stood, Nosedive with a clay hand stuck to his arm.

"We found Asteroth at the Brickyard. He's got these clay creatures called golems!" he explained, working at the hand to get it off of him. He finally worked it so it came off of his arm and hit the floor.

"They got Wing and Tanya." Anna added.

"We gotta help them!" Duke exclaimed.

"Duh! That's why we're here!" Nosedive belittled.

Duke walked over, pulling out a small TV screen. He switched it on, tuning the wires a little. Borg appeared on the screen.

"My friends! I have been trying to reach you!"

"Borg, listen. We couldn't destroy the amulet with our technology."

"Then you must come with me! Here, take my hands!" his hands suddenly shot out of the TV. Duke grabbed onto one while Nosedive stepped forward, grabbing the other.

"Whoa!" Dive exclaimed as he and Duke were pulled into the TV, "I smell a plot twist!"

With Nosedive's last sentence, the TV's screen went blank as Mallory, Grin and Anna stared into it.

"We lose anymore teammates, this show is gonna be called the Mighty Duck." Mallory murmured. "Come on guys, we gotta find the amulet." She ordered Grin and Anna.

They moved back to Drake 1, where Jason and Jess still were, still not speaking but acting like they needed to.

Mallory ignored the younger ducks, sitting down at Drake 1. She tapped in a couple of commands and hit a dead end.

"According to Drake 1, nothing unusual happened while we were gone."

"Who could have taken it?" Grin asked.

"And who could have magic powerful enough to silence Jace and Jess so they couldn't tell us anything."

"Well, Asteroth. But he's been at the Brickyard this whole time." Mallory tried.

Jason and Jess stood up, making motions with their hands.

"Okay, okay… One word. One syllable." Anna tried, and Jason started to nod, doing things with his hands.

"Okay, sounds like…" suddenly, Jason was acting like he was cooking patties during the summer.

"Burger?"

"Patty?"

"Grill?" Jason put his finger on his beak.

"Okay, Pill, dill," Anna tried guessing.

"Phil!" Mallory exclaimed.

Silent excitement came from Jason and Jess as Mallory figured it out.

"What would Phil want with a mystical amulet?" Grin asked.

"Are you kidding? He'd probably try to hock it!" Mallory reasoned, typing something into Drake 1. "Good thing we snuck that homing device into his cell phone. He's in…" she trailed off as the signal homed into Phil's location.

"Malibu!"

Mallory growled as she stood up from the computer.

* * *

Malibu was about an hour and a half drive away from Anaheim, but with as angry as Mallory was, they cut that time in half and were in Malibu within 45 minutes.

"Alright, Phil! Hand over that amulet!" Mallory demanded as she, Grin and Anna ran up on him lounging on the beach. Jess and Jason had stayed in Anaheim.

"No way!" Phil growled.

"It's evil, Phil." Grin tried. When the man didn't budge, Mallory drew her weapon.

"Oh come on, it's vacation time! Lose the weapons!" Phil said. The amulet did as was commanded, as Mallory's gun suddenly faded into nothingness.

"Nice going, Phil!" Mallory hissed. No sooner had she spoken, Asteroth arrived on the beach.

"Stand aside!" he ordered.

Grin, Mallory, and Anna moved in front of Phil.

Anna reached for her saber, but it wasn't there. Apparently, Phil's "wish" affected all of the ducks. They were completely defenseless.

Asteroth conjured up a fireball, throwing it at the ducks' feet. They went flying back, hitting the sand.

It took Asteroth no time at all to freeze Phil to stone and fly off with the amulet.

As soon as Asteroth left, everything Phil had wished for vanished, and Anna was pleased to find her saber had returned to its rightful place on her shoulder.

"We gotta stop him!" Mallory shouted, pointing.

"What about Phil?" Grin asked.

"Eh, better take him." The way Mallory said it, sounded like she wouldn't mind leaving him on the beach. Anna had to agree with her tone. Phil had been nothing but trouble.

* * *

Wildwing and Tanya looked up to see Asteroth had returned with the amulet. He merged the amulet with his helmet and raised his hands to the sky. The buildings around them began to change and mold and a dark vortex appeared in the sky.

"Asteroth, what are you doing!" Wildwing growled.

"I'm going to suck this miserable planet into the Dark Zone!"

"Well, there goes tourist season," Tanya muttered. They heard an engine and looked over to see Mallory, Grin, and Anna running toward them.

A golem appeared once more, moving toward them.

Grin picked it up and threw it against the wall. It shattered, but then regathered itself, moving back toward the ducks once again.

"Talk about going with the flow," Grin muttered, standing next to Mallory and Anna.

"What could harden clay?" Mallory asked out loud. She and Anna shared a look and then spoke at the same time, "Thermal pucks!"

Mallory recalibrated her puck launcher and aimed at the golem. One puck put it out of commission.

The rest emerged on them, but Mallory took them out easily.

"Ha! We baked them!" she exclaimed.

Asteroth floated down next to the last two standing golems. He waved his hands, destroying them himself. Anna knew this wasn't going to end well.

"Now you too shall be stone!" he shouted, pointing a finger at them. Anna quickly dived away, tucking and rolling and coming up next to Tanya and Wildwing. When she turned around, Mallory and Grin were stone.

"No!" she shouted. She didn't have time to get the other two free though, as Asteroth emerged on them.

"I remember you… specifically." He said, holding her chin to make her look up at him.

"Tell me, my dear. What do you think, now, of the old man?" Asteroth mocked, stepping back and spreading his arms to show himself to her.

Anna glared as Asteroth's smile disappeared.

"Where's your friend? The one with the eyepatch? He's the one I'm worried about. He's the only one of you who ever stood a chance against the mighty and powerful Asteroth!"

Anna let loose a growl, unsheathing her blade and slicing at Asteroth. She managed to hit him, and he took a step back, holding his arm.

"Why you-"

He stopped dead in his tracks as a portal opened above them. Out came Duke and Nosedive. Duke instantly saw Anna cowering beneath Asteroth, though she was trying not to show it. He was instantly pissed, pointing a new sword at the sorcerer.

"Cough up the amulet, Asteroth!" he growled.

"How dare you make demands of Asteroth, Lord of the Red Dragon!" as he spoke his title, his form began to change as he turned back into the red dragon that the ducks hadn't seen for months.

Anna took this opportunity to back up next to Nosedive and Duke.

"Looks like Asteroth got an upgrade." She mentioned.

"Yeah, and in that upgrade, the amulet turned into a horn!" he pointed. The red dragon, this time, seemed bigger and stronger, and protruding from its head was a magical green horn; the amulet.

"Roast, mortals!" the dragon shouted, shooting fire out of his mouth. Anna, Dive, and Duke jumped in opposite directions. "Your puny magic is no match for my powers!" Asteroth bragged.

Duke, Dive, and Anna came back together.

"The horn is the source of his power," Duke reminded them. He looked at Nosedive, "you gotta keep him distracted while I get to it."

"No problem!" Dive shouted, running for a nearby pickup truck.

"What do I do?" Anna asked, grabbing Duke's arm. The dragon spit fire at them again, and they jumped apart.

"don't die!" he shouted.

"uh, Roger that," Anna said, her voice quivering as a shadow fell over her. Duke stopped in his tracks, turning back to see the dragon had cornered her.

"Anna!"

"Just go!" she growled at him.

"Shit!" Duke shook his head, telling himself that if she really felt she was in trouble, she would have called him back. He knew her. She'd get out of it. She always did.

Anna glared up at the dragon.

"I feel like we've been in this position before. Don't you?" the dragon asked, smirking as fire lingered in his mouth.

A horn was heard as a truck went blazing right underneath the dragon.

"What!?" Asteroth growled, his attention grabbed by Nosedive in the truck. Anna sighed with relief, climbing to her feet. She ran over to Wildwing and Tanya, trying to work the chains loose.

Duke had climbed up to a higher spot, and once he was set, he drew Asteroth's attention from the truck.

"Over here, Asteroth!"

"This time I'll shred your flesh!" the dragon growled, pointing at Duke.

"Don't count on it!" Duke said, wielding the magical sword he'd gotten from the other dimension. Anna couldn't believe her eyes as an energy shot out of the sword, knocking Asteroth to the ground. Duke jumped down, slicing the horn off of the dragon.

"My horn! No!" Asteroth shouted as he turned back into a mere man.

Once the horn was sliced off, it turned back into an amulet. Duke wasted no time, slicing the amulet in half.

"Nosedive scores!" Nosedive had jumped out of the truck, running up to Asteroth. He ripped the helmet off the old man, tossing it to Duke. Duke sliced it in midair.

"My powers: gone." Asteroth sounded heartbroken, looking up to the portal between the dark zone and Earth, "and the gateway is closing." He flew up to the gateway on brittle wings, moving slow as if he were weak. He barely made it to the gateway as it disappeared, along with any trace the sorcerer had even been there.

Duke walked over to where Tanya, Wildwing, and Anna stood.

"So, you maybe wanna explain how you did all that weird stuff?" Tanya asked.

"Four words: This sword," Duke held the sword up, "has magic."

"I hope it can help Mallory and Grin." Wildwing said.

Duke walked over, figuring he would give it a try. He touched the sword to them, and they instantly turned back from stone.

"What happened? Where's Asteroth!" Mallory suddenly demanded.

"Don't worry, Mallory. He's gone." Wildwing promised.

"Yeah, but what if he tries to come back?" she argued.

Nosedive glanced up at the sky where the portal had been, "I don't know, but he's gonna have a heck of a commute."

* * *

The statue of Phil stood in the rec room.

"Personally, I kind of like him this way." Mallory tried.

"Yeah, especially after what he did to us!" Jason glared at the statue.

"We can't just leave him like this," Wildwing's morals were getting to him.

"No more stupid publicity stunts… no more photo ops…" Tanya trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

"and, truth be told, he does make a pretty nice decoration." Nosedive added.

"Oh, that is so tempting…" Duke murmured, moving toward Phil, "but I can't." he touched the sword to Phil, turning him back from stone to human.

"What happened? Where's the jewel?" Phil asked.

"At least he's got his priorities straight." Jess murmured.

"Basically, it's gone, Phil. We destroyed it." Duke said simply.

"What!" Phil exclaimed, "you can't do this to me! That thing gave me riches, fame, girlfriends!"

"Sorry, Phil. Had to do it." Duke said, not sounding like he meant it as he walked over to Safe 7. He placed the sword into the safe.

"That's just like you ducks! I can't take this heartbreak," Phil placed a hand across his face in agony, "Sometimes, I wish I was made of stone!"

"Phil, five words alright?" Duke turned back as the Safe sunk back into the ground, "careful what you wish for."

"Come on, let's finish our game." Jess motioned for Jason to join her at the table.

"Anybody up for a movie?" Dive asked.

"Is it gonna be scary?" Tanya asked.

"No, no. it's called Candyman." Dive promised.

"Oh, ok. That sounds nice enough." Tanya agreed, walking in the direction of the TV room. Everyone else followed obediently after Nosedive, even Jason and Jess who had already sat back down to their unfinished game. Phil brushed past the ducks.

"If you need me, I'll be in my office, mourning the loss of the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Yeah, you do that Phil," Duke muttered.

"You two coming?" Wildwing asked.

"We'll catch up," Duke promised. Wildwing gave him a weird look but nodded, walking out the door after the rest of the ducks. Once they were alone, Duke turned back, grabbing Anna. She laughed with excitement as he twisted around so he had dipped her and was holding her.

"Guinevere." He said.

"What?" she asked.

"The answer to the trivia question from earlier. King Arthur's wife was Guinevere."

"You know, you remind me a little of King Arthur." She trailed off, brushing his bang up. "You show up in the Knick of time with some magical sword."

"Which I actually did pull out of a stone." He clarified.

"See? King Arthur." She praised.

"Why thank you, Guinevere." He said, leaning down and kissing her. He let her back up but pulled her into a hug.

"How long do you think it will take the guys to realize, you know, that we're together?" Anna asked.

"Hopefully not for a while. I heard Wildwing pop off at Mallory earlier. I don't know what it was about, but it was something about relationships and how they could endanger the team. I hope he doesn't already know." He said as they started walking toward the theater to join the rest of the ducks.

"Trust me, he doesn't know. And he won't, at least for a while." She said, turning back to him outside the door. She reached up, kissing him quickly again before turning back to the door. Before she could get her hand on the handle, the door swung open and Tanya was right there.

"He's full of it, guys. It is a scary movie!"

"Oh, come on Tanya! It's a mystery!" Dive said from the couch. Wildwing still sat there with Mallory, despite the fact the last time Nosedive had put in a scary movie they had refused to stick around for it.

Grin was right behind Tanya.

"Some sort of murder mystery. Still clouds my aura." He said, shoving past and walking down the hall. Tanya still stood there.

"Uh huh, it starts with some girl getting murdered!" she snapped.

"It doesn't show it! Don't be such a baby, Tanya!"

"I am out of here! It can only get worse from here!" Tanya's feathers were ruffled as she stomped off down the hall.

"So, what did we miss?" Duke asked with a grin as he and Anna shoved into the basic home theater.

The way they had it set up was two big couches and a couple of recliners. Right now, Jason sat in one recliner while Mallory sat in the other. Wildwing, Nosedive, and Jess were on one couch. Obviously, Tanya and Grin had been on the other couch before becoming unamused by the movie, so Duke and Anna settled in while Nosedive filled them in on what they had missed.

It didn't take long for Anna to nonchalantly lean into Duke's side, while he had his arm around her. Nobody paid them any attention as they focused on the mystery/horror flick.


	41. Duck Hard: pt 1

Anna yawned, standing over the stove.

"Good morning." She smiled as a certain duck brushed up behind her.

"Good morning." She said back, letting Duke nuzzle her neck with his beak, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Last night was-"

"I know." She finished, rocking with him.

"Can't I take a couple of members of my team out shopping?" Phil's voice echoed in the hall just outside the kitchen.

Duke jumped away, nonchalantly moving toward the coffee maker.

As he poured a cup, he saw Phil walking in with Nosedive, Jason, and Grin.

"What in the hell?" Anna asked.

"I know!" Nosedive agreed, not answering her question.

"Come on, you guys will love it! Just a guys day out shopping." Phil tried.

"yeah, alright. But I get some toast first!" Nosedive bargained. No sooner had he spoken, some toast popped out of the toaster. Anna threw two slices at Nosedive, who caught them.

"Thank you." He said with pride.

"Okay, you got your toast. Can we go now?" Phil pushed.

"Fine," Nosedive rolled his eyes, "Pray for us, Annie!" he called as he was practically shoved out the door with the other two ducks.

"What was that all about?" Anna asked, turning back to look at Duke.

"I have no idea. The pond is very lively this morning." He said, staying back against the counter. Anna smiled, moving over to him slowly.

"Anna, didn't you just hear me?" he asked.

"Yep. Makes it all the more fun." She said, pulling him into her, "the very idea that we might get caught. Isn't it kind of exciting?" she tried. He smiled, leaning down and kissing her.

"Living on the edge." He agreed, lifting her up and sitting her on the counter. He continued to kiss her over and over again.

Footsteps were heard outside the door as somebody yawned.

Duke pulled back, dropping Anna back on the floor with him. She flipped back around, nonchalantly stirring her creation for breakfast.

"Good morning." Jess said through a yawn.

"Morning." Duke said, grabbing his coffee and moving towards the table. As he passed Anna, he nonchalantly touched her butt. Anna glanced back at him as he smirked at her.

 _Oh you are so gonna pay for that later, Duke L'Orange._

It didn't take long for Wildwing, Tanya and Mallory to join them for breakfast. Wildwing glanced around, arching an eyebrow.

"Nosedive isn't up yet?"

"Phil dragged him, Grin and Jason off to do some… shopping of some sort." Anna murmured.

She turned around from the stove for a moment, kind of swaying.

"Anna, are you alright?" Wildwing stopped eating, cocking his head at her. Duke turned around in his chair to see what Wildwing was seeing.

"I'm uh… I'm good." As soon as she spoke, she placed a hand over her mouth and suddenly rushed out of the kitchen.

"Jess" Wildwing glanced at Jess across the table.

"Yep, on it!" she said, dropping her fork and following Anna out the door.

She found her in the bathroom, hunched over the toilet throwing up.

"you good Anna?"

Anna moaned, turning back to look at Jess.

"I think I caught the flu or something." Anna murmured.

"It is flu season." Jess agreed, leaning down to pat Anna's back but taking note not to get too close. "Hey, I'll clean up breakfast. Why don't you go lay down?"

Anna nodded sluggishly, reaching up to flush the toilet. She trudged out of the bathroom while Jess quickly reached under the sink, spraying some sanitizer around the toilet and then washing her hands.

"Is she ok?" Duke asked when Jess walked back into the kitchen.

"She thinks she caught the flu," Jess muttered. Duke's eyes went wide but he quickly shook it off. He sat there tapping on the table for a second before standing up and moving back to the coffee maker. All he could think was _coffee's a fluid, right?_ He sipped on his second cup, hoping he hadn't caught the flu from her. If he was the only one to catch it, it would look suspicious and he and Anna weren't quite ready for the others to find out about them yet.

* * *

After breakfast, Tanya ushered Mallory and Duke into the lab to show them what she and Jess had made.

"Here it is," Tanya said, holding it up, "our new weapon in the fight against Dragaunus. The new multi-puck launcher!" she announced with Jess standing behind her. Mallory grabbed it from her, testing out the weight and sights on it.

"Those saurian slime balls won't stand a chance against this." She praised.

"I hope not," Tanya suddenly sounded distressed, "cause there they are!"

Without warning, Siege, Wraith and the Chameleon appeared in the room.

Mallory let the puck launcher rip. The pucks seemed to go right through the saurians as they disappeared.

Mallory lowered the launcher, seeming to be in shock. What just happened?

Without warning, Dragaunus appeared behind Duke.

"Hey, on your guard!" he turned around, drawing his saber, "let's just see what you're really made of!" he challenged, charging the lizard. He jumped, going right through him.

"Okay, apparently you're made of air or something." Duke murmured, sensing no danger as he stood up.

"You redecorated the place nicely, Mallory." Wildwing praised, walking into the room.

"Okay, what the heck was that!" Duke demanded.

"Oh, it's Tanya's new holo-target generator. Just a way of testing the new multi-puck launcher," he trailed off, eyeballing Mallory, "and your reflexes."

"Give me that!" Mallory demanded, ripping the remote out of Wildwing's hands.

"What?" he crossed his arms at her, "you want more target practice?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," she murmured, "but the next time Nosedive puts worms in my boots, I'm going to give him the fright of his life." She pointed the holo-target generator at Duke. Before Wildwing could comment further, they got a "Doorbell" alert from Drake 1. Wildwing opened his comm to view the camera.

"Captain Klegghorn? What's he doing here?" he wondered out loud, "I'll check it out." He announced, starting to walk away.

"Oh, and clean this place up. It's a mess." He added sassily before leaving.

"Why you pointing that thing at me!" Duke finally addressed, "I thought he was going to eat the worms!" he defended.

* * *

"Sorry, Wildwing. I've gotta do it."

Wildwing had his arms crossed. "Look, captain. We're on your side!" Wildwing tried.

"Yesterday, we received an anonymous tip that you've got dangerous substances under this stadium. I've gotta check it out."

"I'm sorry, Klegghorn. But the pond is our personal property." Wildwing said with confidence. He knew his rights. He'd read up on the laws of this planet the moment he realized they'd be stranded here.

"And I've got a personal search warrant," Klegghorn said, pulling the piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "Now, either you let me in or the boys from the EPA will bust their way in and trust me Wildwing. You want it, to be me." Klegghorn promised.

Wildwing sighed, "alright, Captain. But you better hang onto your socks."

* * *

"Hey, come on guys! Wildwing told you to help clean up my lab!" Tanya chased the ducks back to the rec room.

"Hey, we did help clean it up!" Duke tried.

"Shoving the debris under a throw rug does not constitute cleaning up!" Tanya argued back.

The argument was interrupted by the elevator door opening and Wildwing running in.

"Hey, Wildwing. How did you ditch Klegghorn?" Duke asked.

"Nevermind! We've got lizards in the building!" Wildwing exclaimed.

"But all our defenses are on. Our anti-teleportation shield is up." Tanya tried to reason.

"Where are they?" Mallory asked, ready for a fight.

"Right here!" Wildwing suddenly shifted into the Chameleon. He grabbed some sort of smoke grenade from his side pouch and rolled it toward the ducks.

The four ducks hit the floor almost instantly, the knock out gas having done its job.

It took the Chameleon no time at all to lower the teleportation defense shield. It took even less time for Siege and Wraith to teleport inside the Pond.

Once inside, Siege contacted Dragaunus.

"It worked, boss. We're in. And the ducks are out!"

"At last!" Dragaunus hissed, "the pond is mine!"

* * *

Anna rolled over in bed, rubbing her head. She hated the flu. Why did she have to be so tired and fatigued? She got up and rubbed her head.

"Duke?" she opened her comm, waiting for a response. It didn't come.

"Duke?" she tried again. She switched channels really quick. "Mallory?" again, nothing. She sighed out, getting up. All she wanted was some sort of broth and crackers to ease her stomach. She moved out of her room, going to the kitchen.

Why weren't the others answering?


	42. Duck Hard: pt 2

Siege hovered over Drake 1's console.

"The security system is fully restored." He announced to the other lizards.

"Why not just destroy the infernal place now?" Wraith asked.

"Wraith, you're so impulsive," the chameleon said with an impression, "I admire that, but first we have to use this pumped up PC to get the military missile launch codes, you see? Then… we destroy the place!"

* * *

"You better prepare yourself, Captain." Wildwing warned, standing at the locker room entrance with Klegghorn, "only a few humans have seen what you're about to see." He lifted the panel in the wall that hid the access code port. He tapped in the code, but when it ran, it gave an incorrect indication.

"What?" Wildwing was obviously confused by this, trying the code again. He tried it a couple more times, punching in the buttons.

"Look, this is a real nice locker room and everything, but-" Klegghorn was cut off as Wildwing activated his comm.

"Guys, the elevator's not working." He tried.

"Yeah, Tanya had another one of her bright ideas," Mallory appeared on screen, "she's turbocharging the darn thing. Well, gotta help her now. Bye bye, take care, don't forget to write!" with that, Mallory disappeared.

"Something is very wrong here." Wildwing picked up on the way Mallory was talking. It didn't sound like her. In fact, and he hated to think it, but it sounded almost like the chameleon.

"Anna." He flipped the channel over to see Anna with dark circles under her eyes.

"What's up?" she asked, and her voice sounded weak.

"Uh, the main elevator isn't working, can you check it out for me?"

"Um… I'm kind of trying to get rid of the flu here…"

"Anna, I just contacted Mallory and she's acting weird."

"She didn't even answer me… how weird?" Anna cocked an eyebrow.

"Like… chameleon weird."

"You don't think those lizards got in here, do you?" he watched as Anna looked over both her shoulders.

"That's… kind of why I'm worried. Are you able to-"

"Yeah, I took an anti-nausea pill about half an hour ago. I'll go check it out."

"Thanks. In the meantime, I'm going to try to get in the emergency way." He promised.

"Yeah, keep trying. If the lizards are here, I don't know if I'll be able to take them by myself."

"Be careful Anna."

"You too." Wildwing shut his comm and looked back at Klegghorn.

"We'll have to take another route. Come on." Wildwing ushered.

"I wanna see permits for that elevator!" Klegghorn threatened.

* * *

"I just love getting in touch with my feminine side." The chameleon said before turning back into himself from acting as Mallory.

Mallory, Duke, Tanya, and Jess were all tied up in the corner.

"I guess imitation isn't the sincerest form of flattery," Mallory added, cringing.

"Hey, Tanya. Can Drake 1 really access all those missile codes?" Duke asked.

"Oh, it wouldn't even break into a sweat," Tanya promised.

"Grin, Nosedive, and Jason will be back soon. We can count on them." He promised, "we have to."

"What about Anna?" Jess pointed out. Duke sighed out.

"We gotta hope these lizards don't go exploring. With how weak she probably is from the flu, she wouldn't stand a chance if they stumbled on her."

"If only there was some sort of way to warn her…" Tanya seemed to be in thought. Nobody seemed to be able to come up with anything as they sat there, completely helpless.

* * *

Wildwing guided Klegghorn into the sewers with a flashlight. A sewer rat crawled by and Klegghorn arched an eyebrow.

"If this is your secret headquarters, I've gotta say, I'm underwhelmed." Klegghorn mocked.

"This isn't our headquarters," Wildwing was trying not to get annoyed with the cop, "I'm accessing the emergency entrance." He said as he pushed one of the bricks into the wall. Something that imitated a garage door opened next to them, revealing another door they could attempt to access.

"Ok, don't tell me. This one isn't gonna work either." Klegghorn said mockingly. Wildwing pushed the button, receiving the failure alert again.

"All the security systems are down." Wildwing tried to work out.

"Oh boo hoo…" the captain continued to mock, "just get us inside, will ya!"

Wildwing rolled his eyes, flipping back around, "Listen to me! I think someone's taken over our headquarters!" he snapped.

"And I think you and your pals are putting on some sort of show to stall me! Now get us inside, or-"

"Oh, I'll get us inside." Wildwing glowered, "stand back."

Wildwing took a few steps back, Klegghorn following. He aimed his Puck launcher at the door and fired, exploding the entrance open.

"Hey!" Klegghorn was taken by surprise.

"You wanted inside, didn't you?" Wildwing snapped at him before leading him forward.

* * *

Anna pressed her ear against the door that led to Drake 1.

"There, in 49 minutes we'll have the codes!" she heard Siege's muffled voice on the other side.

"what the hell? What codes?" she wondered out loud in a whisper. She sighed out. There was no way to actually get in there without alerting them that she was in there. The door would make a sound when opened and then she would be in the same boat as the rest of the ducks.

"I found these explosive pucks." She heard the wraith say through the door, "if there's one thing I despise, it's hockey." He said before letting out a sneeze, "I'm allergic to the accursed sport."

"Then this will clear your sinuses. An hour after I plant these in the fusion generator, this place will be incinerated."

"But by then, the stands will be filled for tonight's game." Anna heard Tanya's muffled worried voice.

"Shit, Wildwing." She turned around on her com.

"Anna, what's happening." His voice sounded cramped.

"Uh, where are you?" she asked.

"In the vents…" his voice was slightly annoyed. She smirked.

"Run into John McClane in there yet?" she snickered.

"Very funny Anna. Now what's up?" he asked.

"Would you watch it with that mask! I'm moving as fast as I can!" Klegghorn was heard in the background before he was heard kicking a vent cover out.

"Wraith found our explosive pucks and sent Siege to set them up in the fusion generator." Wildwing's eyes bulged at Anna's words as Klegghorn crawled out of the vent in front of him.

"What is that!" Klegghorn asked, pointing at the giant machine in the middle of the room.

"Our uh… our quantum fusion generator." Wildwing said simply, knowing he still had Anna on the other side of the comm.

"Keep an eye out for Siege, Wildwing. Be careful."

"Yeah, I'll uh… I'll get back to you later." Wildwing promised, closing the comm and putting his guard up, looking around for the lizard.

"You got a permit for that!?" Klegghorn asked, pointing.

"The feathers are gonna fly!" the cop and the duck looked over to see Siege, aiming a gun at them.

"It's Siege!" Wildwing informed Klegghorn.

"I thought you said your headquarters were secret!" Klegghorn exclaimed, standing up and jumping back next to Wildwing. Siege opened fire, causing Wildwing and Klegghorn to jump and roll out of the way.

As Klegghorn was pulling himself back up, Siege took aim at him.

"Looks like I'm gonna fry me a flat foot!" he said, aiming. Wildwing stepped in the way, activating his shield and charging toward Siege. He knocked the lizard back, causing him to hit the fusion generator. The lizard took a moment to gain his footing again, realizing he'd dropped his gun. He ripped a pipe out of the fusion generator, charging toward Wildwing. Wildwing didn't have time to react as he was struck to the ground.

Now that Wildwing's shield was deactivated, Siege pulled back, preparing for another strike. As he went to bring his arms down, he was shocked to find one of his hands stuck in place. Without him knowing, Klegghorn had swung up behind him, cuffing him to a nearby pipe in the wall.

"No one's above the law in my city, slime ball!" Klegghorn snapped.

Siege growled, jerking his arm. Klegghorn reared back in surprise, seeing the pipe begin to rip out of the wall.

"Klegghorn, get back!" Wildwing ordered. Klegghorn did as he was told as Wildwing fired a sleep gas puck at the saurian. In seconds, Siege was out.

"Nice work, partner." Wildwing praised.

"Don't think that cuts you any slack about the building permit, pal." He threatened, poking a finger into Wing's chest.

Wildwing smirked, leading the way down the hall. He took it slow, peering around every corner.

"Come on, what's the hold up?" Klegghorn asked.

"We have to be careful. Dragaunus' goons are controlling the defense system." Wildwing warned.

"What kind of defense system?"

"You uh… don't wanna know." Wildwing promised, taking off down the next hall.

"Oh come on, how bad could it…be?" he was nearly cut off as a floating robot appeared around the corner with guns for arms.

"Intruders. Intruders." a robotic voice sounded as two more robots joined the first. "Exterminiate. Exterminate!" the robots suddenly lurched forward, firing at Wildwing and Klegghorn.

"Run!" Wildwing ushered Klegghorn back to a nook in the wall.

"I take it you don't have permits for those either!" A couple of the shots got close, and Klegghorn leaned closer into the wall.

"For crying out loud, what did you do to get these lizards so steamed?" he asked.

"Well, it would seem we got in the way of their mad plan to conquer the universe." Wildwing explained simply.

"That shield of yours strong enough to take their fire?" Klegghorn asked.

"Sure, for maybe five seconds."

"Then keep them busy." Klegghorn ordered, pulling out his gun. Wildwing did as he was told, activating his shield and stepping out. The robots took him as bate, bypassing Klegghorn in the nook. Klegghorn rolled out of the nook behind them, firing away. It took a few hits, but the robots crashed, going down.

"Fancy shootin', Cap." Wing praised.

"Hey, no fair, you're supposed to be toast!" the chameleon's voice came out of a speaker on the wall. Next to the speaker was a camera, and Klegghorn looked right at it.

"Give it up, Reptile! I'm your worse nightmare!" he threatened.

Chameleon muttered something about what his real worse nightmare was before suddenly, the ground started shaking.

"Sounds like he's going to hit us with some more of our defenses." No sooner had he spoken, some sort of ball with slicing mechanisms came rolling down the hall toward them.

"What the heck is that!"

"A fuzzball. Run!" Wildwing ordered. Didn't have to tell Klegghorn twice as they both took off down the hall. They didn't get far, however, as three more killer robots floated their way, firing their weapons.

"Oh, this is some great security system you've got!" Klegghorn snapped, standing behind Wildwing since he didn't have a shield. Wildwing blocked the fire coming from the robots. Klegghorn looked back to see the ball coming right at them.

"Do me a favor next time, "Klegghorn exclaimed, "just get a dog!"

Wildwing knew they were stuck. The only way left to go was down. He fired a puck into the floor. Klegghorn was surprised by the floor disappearing from beneath him and he and Wildwing fell into the abyss.

* * *

Anna sat with her back against the door, trying to listen in. She thought about contacting Wildwing again, but if she was right, he could be fighting with Siege right this moment.

"I can't just sit here…" she stood up from her spot, drawing her puck launcher. She bounced on her heels for a moment before letting go of a growl and slumping back down against the door. She couldn't barge in, she couldn't take them by herself. She had no idea if she'd be able to get the others freed in time to help her take the lizards out, or if they were even conscious for that matter. She was sure she'd heard Tanya earlier, but not being able to see was killing her.

"Alright, game over for the duck and the cop!" Anna's eyes bulged as she stood up. She took another deep breath. If they killed Wildwing, they were going to pay dearly! No holding back.


	43. Duck Hard: pt 3

_Quick shout out to my readers. You guys are the absolute best! It's amazing to me how quickly you guys are posting reviews on this and it seriously motivates me! You guys are so awesome and so supportive! I'm only caught up another three chapters so I'm hoping I'll have time to write this weekend. You guys deserve the quickest reviews I can possibly muster with how patient you guys have been through this whole story! Again, thanks so much you guys and yes, we are getting really close to wrapping this bad boy up! Enjoy!_

* * *

"Alright!" the ducks perked up, hearing the Chameleon cheer, "game over for the duck and the cop!"

"Wildwing's gone?" Tanya sounded heart broken, leaning back onto the floor. Mallory looked away from them. He couldn't be gone. He just couldn't be.

"Come on guys, we can't give up. I've got an idea." Duke murmured, pulling a panel off the side of Drake 1. Tanya saw what he was getting at and sat up, scooting over. Duke knew she would know better what to look for and scooted out of the way.

"You sons of bitches!" A look of surprise crossed Duke's face as he realized who was out of bed from the flu.

"Anna?" Mallory asked, glancing up.

The wraith and chameleon both looked wide eyed in Anna's direction.

"Oh crap. I didn't realize we were missing a duck!" The chameleon squeaked.

Anna was fuming, drawing her sword and moving toward Drake 1.

"I've got the ground strap," Tanya finally announced. "It should drain the charge from these energy bands" as she spoke, the bands around her wrists lost its charge, and she was able to get free. She got the bands around her legs undone before moving onto Mallory. Then, she got Duke free and then finally, Jess.

The wraith threw a fireball at Anna, but she was able to bat it away with her saber.

"Ten more minutes…" the chameleon stared intensely at the screen.

"I can hold her off for ten more minutes." The wraith promised, pulling out fireball after fireball. Anna was able to bat one back towards the Wraith, and he ducked, looking surprised. But then, she had to duck behind a console, sheathing her saber and pulling out the puck launcher. She waited for the fireballs to cease before firing on the wraith. The wraith ducked back, and the chameleon squeaked, jumping up and over to avoid getting shot at.

"What in the hell's going on here!" Anna's heart dropped as she heard Siege's voice. He had returned.

"Don't worry, it's just one duck!" the chameleon called back, pulling down on a lever. A gun dropped down from the ceiling, aiming at Anna.

"Oh shit!" she gasped, ducking out from behind the console to get away from the gun. The wraith took his chance, firing a fireball at her now that she was exposed. That should have been it for Anna, but before she knew it, she was picked up instantly and was flying through the air.

"Duke?" He smiled as she wrapped herself around him.

The rest of the ducks emerged from on top of Drake 1, all puck launchers drawn and aimed at the lizards.

They opened fire on the lizards, making them duck. Once Duke and Anna got back on top of the console, they rejoined the battle, firing whenever they could. It was difficult with the gun from the ceiling consistently firing in their direction.

"How did you guys get free?" Anna asked.

"Well, with your distraction, it was easy." Tanya praised. Anna smirked, taking aim at the lizards down below them.

The fight went on for a few minutes before, without warning, the ceiling gun moved back into its hidey hole.

"Somebody turned off the defenses!" Mallory announced.

"But who?" asked Tanya.

"Who cares!" Duke responded, "Ducks rock!" he shouted, jumping from on top of the monitor. As he came down, he kicked Siege away and opened fire on the other two. He got a couple of shots off before turning back around to run for cover. The girls all looked at each other before following suit, jumping down behind the console and firing from behind cover, careful not to hit Duke who was running toward them.

Duke saw Wildwing and Klegghorn standing behind the girls, but now wasn't the time for a heart filled reunion.

He turned back around, opening fire on the saurians again.

"This is for you Wildwing!" Tanya suddenly claimed as she fired.

"Thanks, Tanya. Appreciate it."

Her eyes widened as she realized Wildwing had moved to fire beside her, "Wildwing! You're okay!"

"Listen," Mallory got Wildwing's attention as they ducked back behind the console. Anna and Duke continued to fire on the lizards every few seconds while still hearing the conversation, "those goons are using Drake 1 to access the military's missile launch codes."

"With all those warheads, Dragaunus could rule the world." Wildwing pieced together.

"And, they've planted a bunch of explosive pucks in the generator." Duke added, turning around for a second.

"And they're gonna go off in six minutes," Mallory added. Tanya got a look of worry on her face.

"And the stadium is probably full by now."

"It's just one thing after another today, isn't it." Wildwing muttered. Klegghorn got his attention.

"You stop the bombs. I owe these scuz buckets some payback." He said, pulling out his gun. Wildwing nodded, running off toward the generator. Klegghorn popped up from hiding, "You lousy lizards! Nobody tries to conquer the world from my precinct!"

The rest of the ducks joined Klegghorn as they came out of hiding. The lizards had completely ducked down.

"Boss, we need a little help." Came a whimper from Chameleon.

"Forget it, sleezebag. Nobody's gonna help you!" Klegghorn shouted.

"You were saying, worthless maggot?" They all turned to see Dragaunus standing behind them.

"It's Dragaunus!" Duke informed. Before they could do anything, Dragaunus fired a stun ray at the ducks and human, knocking them out cold. All except one. Anna was just behind the console enough that the ray missed her.

"I hope you aren't too stunned by this." Dragaunus said to the ducks on the ground.

"You evil sonofabitch!" Dragaunus turned to see Anna flying at him.

"Anna, long time…" he peeled her off at him, holding her out, "no see."

She flipped up, kicking him in the face as she came back down. He snickered, moving forward. She fired a couple of pucks at him, but he blocked them easily. She backed up slowly as he grabbed her by the throat. She struggled, pulling at his claws.

"Now, Anna. Don't do anything too rash. I'd hate to have to bear the news to Canard that his baby sister messed up and got herself killed!" he growled.

"What?" Anna gasped. She had forgotten about her assumptions. "You do have him!" she hissed through the chokehold.

"You are clever," Dragaunus remarked, smirking. "I've held onto him in hopes of maybe one day using him against you. Thus far, I haven't had to stoop so low. He is strong, though. He can go for days without food or water. You would be proud to see him still surviving. All he ever talks about is you." He sneered.

"Let my brother go." Anna choked out. Dragaunus let out a chuckle.

"I don't think so." He said, tossing her across the floor. She rolled a little and as she sat up, she held her arm.

"I'll kill you!" she shouted, getting back up and running toward him. Dragaunus turned back around, back handing her and sending her flying into the console. She gritted her teeth and let out a grunt as she felt something crack. She was almost certain Dragaunus had just busted a rib. Maybe two. She tasted blood as she turned back to face him.

"You've been a thorn in my side for too long!" Dragaunus growled. He moved toward her. She put up her arms, ready for a fight but she was only able to block one blow before his tail came from behind, tripping her. She landed on her back, breathing heavily. Dragaunus picked her up by the throat, and she struggled against his grasp.

"Let me go." She struggled to get the words out. He smiled menacingly, bringing her close to him.

"As you wish." He tossed her into the console of Drake 1. Her head hit the console and she collapsed on the ground.

Dragaunus turned back to Drake 1, seeing that the countdown had finished.

"The missiles are mine!" he exclaimed.

Right at that moment, the elevator doors slid open to reveal Phil, Grin, Nosedive and Jason.

"Who wants coffee and donuts?" Phil asked, walking in.

"Dragaunus!" Nosedive gasped, seeing the saurians, and then seeing his teammates laying on the floor. He, Grin and Jason did a quick change, but Dragaunus was too fast, firing a stun ray at them as well. They fell back, hitting the floor. The donuts and coffee flew out of Phil's hands, and one of the donuts rolled toward Klegghorn.

He smelled the donut and started to come to.

Dragaunus tapped some numbers into Drake 1's panel.

"I've downloaded the codes into this data cylinder. Program the teleporter to take us to the raptor." He told Siege. Siege nodded in confirmation.

As the codes released from the console, Dragaunus picked them up, holding them above his head in triumph.

"Who on this retched planet would dare to defy me!"

"You're looking at him, wise guy!" Klegghorn had completely come to, firing a shot at the data cylinder. It dropped from Dragaunus' claws, completely destroyed.

"The codes! No!" he shouted in defeat. At that moment, all the ducks came to behind Klegghorn. All accept one. They all aimed at the spot the saurians stood in.

"Boss, we gotta split!" Chameleon said, tugging on Dragaunus' robes. Dragaunus glared before the saurians teleported out of there.

Once the saurians were gone, the group all turned to each other with smiles on their faces. They had done it. They drove the lizards out of their home.

"Anna!" the triumph was short lived as Duke ran over to the duck that still lay on the floor. He picked her up, holding her upper torso in his arms.

"What happened to her?" Mallory asked, rushing over to Duke's side.

"When Dragaunus stunned us, he must have missed her." Duke reasoned.

"So that warranted beating the shit out of her?" Jason asked incredulously.

"Dragaunus doesn't like Thunderbeaks, and it's been a while since he's been in the field. He's probably got a lot of pent up anger for Anna and her brother." Duke explained.

"Duke?" he looked back down to see Anna had come to in his arms.

"Oh thank Ducaine." He said, pulling her into a hug. She hugged him back, coming to sit up.

"Anna, what happened?" Tanya asked.

"What do you think? I had a hot-headed lizard come down on me." Anna groaned, grabbing the side of Drake 1. Duke took her other hand and helped her to stand up. He stopped her for a second, taking her face in her hands.

"What?" she asked, not sure why he was touching her like this in front of the others.

"I think you've got a black eye forming." He commented, turning her head slightly. "He cracked the skin right here…" he trailed off, grazing his thumb near the open cut so she knew where it was.

At that moment, Anna's comm beeped.

"The game's about to start." She commented, looking up at the others. They all stared at her blankly. "Well, get going!" she ordered, her voice cracking. Duke hung back for a second.

"I gave you an order. Go get dressed out for the game." She snapped at him. Her torso hurt, her arm hurt from getting slammed into the side of Drake 1, and she had a roaring headache. Her throat was also slightly sore.

"You sure you're alright, sweetheart."

"Get going!" she ordered, pointing him toward the locker rooms. He gave up, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. Her gaze softened, watching him walk away. She knew he was just worried about her, but she didn't have time to worry about herself. She was worried about her little exchange with Dragaunus.

"You might need to go to the hospital." Klegghorn tried, interrupting her thoughts.

"I said I'm fine." She tried to reason. He held up his hands.

"Alright, alright. I'm not your babysitter." He said, walking out.

Anna went to follow but paused for a moment. Her head hurt, but one thing stood out to her. One thing remained clear in her mind: Dragaunus claimed to have Canard prisoner.

It would be so easy for him to be lying. He could be bating her to come looking for a brother that wasn't even on his ship. She hoped that was the case. She hoped Canard was nowhere near that lizard, but a lump caught in her throat as she tried to forget what she already knew; Dragaunus had Canard's communicator. How could she be sure he didn't also have Canard?

* * *

After the game found the ducks all standing around the rec room.

"You think Cap will be going easier on us?" Nosedive asked, leaning against the console.

"I think we earned ourselves another ally today." Wildwing commented.

"Good, because we can use all the help we can get in the fight against Dragaunus," Mallory commented.

"You can say that again," Anna muttered beside her. Her voice had gotten hoarser, and bruises had formed around her neck.

"You feel any better?" Wildwing asked her.

"I'm tough." She commented, crossing her arms.

"That's not what I meant." He trailed off, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I know. Wildwing, can I have a moment with you?" she asked.

"Hey, why does he get to know secrets, and we don't?" Nosedive asked.

"Nosedive, some secrets need to be kept between two people. Unless you feel everyone needs to know about the motorcycle girl?" she asked.

"Uh, no…" Nosedive let loose a nervous chuckle, "go ahead. Keep all the secrets you want with Wing. I'm gonna, uh… go… read some comics or something." It was obvious he was uncomfortable with Anna's statement as he flitted out of the room.

"Motorcycle girl?" Jess asked with a raised eyebrow as she followed him out.

Wildwing rolled his eyes at his little brother.

"Could you guys give us a few?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. I need to go get some laundry going anyway." Duke murmured, walking out. The rest followed suit, murmuring things they needed to get done as they left Wildwing and Anna alone.

"What's up?" he asked.

"It's Canard." She started, and she saw his features tense at the mention of his name. "I think Dragaunus has him prisoner."

"What uh, what gave you that idea?" he asked. Anna sighed out.

"I can't be sure. Do you remember when we thought we'd found Canard? In the mountains?"

"Yeah, but it was just the chameleon." Wildwing concluded.

"Right. Except I looked into video footage from when we lost him and concluded he was wearing his wrist comm when we lost him. So how would we be able to track his comm directly to the chameleon unless the chameleon had the comm."

"But then how did they get his comm?"

"Exactly!" Anna said

"Why are you just now telling me this?" he demanded.

"So much was going on, I honestly forgot about it. It was just a hunch after all. I had no way to prove Canard was on Dragaunus' ship."

"and you do now?" Anna took a breath at his words.

"I can't be sure if Dragaunus spoke the truth or if he was trying to rile me up, or lead me into some sort of future trap, but when I fought with him, he told me he had Canard prisoner. He said he'd just been waiting for an opportunity to use Canard against us and he just hadn't had a reason."

"I highly doubt that. He's had so many opportunities to use Canard against us."

"That's what I thought. But Wildwing, what if he's not bluffing. What if he does have Canard prisoner. If he does, Canard could be hurt. He could be dying."

Wildwing sighed out, seeing the serious look in her eyes.

"Even if he does have Canard captive, we have no way to track the raptor. We proved when we first got to Earth that it takes too long to drive up and down the city blocks scanning the buildings individually."

"I know that, Wildwing." She snapped.

"Well then what do you want me to do about it!"

She looked taken aback for a moment.

"I don't know, Wing. Maybe be just as worried about your best friend as I am about my brother?"

"You don't think I'm worried?" he looked taken aback now, "all I ever think about is losing my best friend. I wake up from nightmares where I see Canard letting go of the mask, and every night I'm powerless to stop it, just as I was when it really happened. There's not a day that goes by that I don't wish he and I had switched places."

Tears welled up in Anna's eyes as she hugged Wildwing. He wrapped his arms back around her as they both stood there, unsure of what had become of their brother and friend.

She pulled out of the hug and looked up at him, "I'm not saying you don't care. I know you do. I forget sometimes because you're so good at shoving it down. You have to." She paused for a minute, "I don't know what I want. I wish there was a way we could better track the raptor, so we could find out for sure if Canard is there."

"Hey," he put a hand on her shoulder, "we'll find him. I've promised you that before, haven't I?" she nodded, another tear running down her cheek, "well then don't you forget it. I haven't broken my promise yet. We're going to get him back."

He looked away, looking at the blank screen of Drake 1. "and if Dragaunus does have Canard, he's in for a world of hurt."

* * *

Later that night, Anna laid in her bed, her hand tracing up and down Duke's chest. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her close to his bare body.

"That was great." He murmured, kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah, you weren't too bad yourself." She smirked, leaning up and letting him kiss her directly. They pulled back for a second.

"Why didn't you catch the flu?" she asked suddenly.

"Maybe you just had a twenty-four-hour bug. I mean, you haven't thrown up since you took those anti-nausea pills, right?" he asked.

"Well yeah, but you were with me the night before I showed symptoms of some type of bug. Why didn't you get sick?" she asked.

"Duke L'Orange doesn't get sick, sweetheart." He smirked. She rolled her eyes at him, leaning up to kiss him again. They lightly kissed for a moment before his beak was suddenly roughly pressing against hers. He rolled over so that he was on top of her.

"Owe!"

"what's wrong?" he stopped, pulling away from her.

"Nothing." She promised.

"What?" he asked, flipping on the bedside lamp. He could see her fully now. Her eye was still puffed up, bruises around her throat. Then, he saw a big bruise taking up a good portion of her upper arm as well as more bruising that crossed her ribs.

He cursed, sitting up in the bed.

"Duke, I'm fine. Really."

"Did I hurt ya the first round?" he pushed.

"No!" she answered too quickly, and he gave her a look. "Fine, but it was a good hurt." She tried sheepishly.

"No, no. biting is a good hurt. Pinching, scratching, handcuffs. Those are good hurts. This shouldn't hurt." He snapped, motioning to her full body.

"So, I got a little bruised up."

"Bruised up? Anna, he cracked three of your ribs!"

"So what? It's not like you haven't been bruised up before!" she snapped. He sighed out.

"Yes, I have been bruised up before, but sweetheart, I hate seeing you hurt. And when I just add to it, I hate myself. I don't want to be the one that causes you pain."

"Hey," she put her hand on his cheek, guiding him to look at her, "you didn't cause this. You wanna be mad at someone, be mad at Dragaunus. Want to hate somebody, hate Dragaunus." He pulled away from her touch, but she grabbed his face with both of her hands, making him look at her again. Their beaks were inches apart.

"Baby, you didn't do this. Besides, as long as you're gentle, we can have all the fun we want." She enticed.

"Anna, I-" his words caught in his throat as he leaned his head into her neck. He wanted to tell her right then and there. He felt like he could. They'd known each other for so long now, it wasn't weird that he loved her. But he thought back to their relationship. They'd only become official with each other not too long ago. If it had been a classic relationship, it'd be too soon to tell her he loved her. It was like she knew what he was trying to say. No more words were spoken as she lifted his head, guiding him back to her lips as she kissed him passionately.

His body fell back into hers, though he wrapped his arm around her lower back to lower her gently back onto the bed.


End file.
